Detroit: Ardent Bion
by B.M. Hobbs
Summary: It's been a year since Markus won civil rights for androids and Connor and his father, Hank, work together to solve crimes in the dangerous city of Detroit. In that year, CyberLife has expanded their horizons and the first person to recieve cyber-enhancements, Anastasia, has been hurt. What will our favorite android sent by CyberLife do to protect his girl from a serial killer?
1. Chapter 1

"Hank! Connor!" Captain Fowler barked from his office. "Get your asses in gear and get in here!"

"Fucker can't say please, can he?" Hank grumbled, as he stood from his chair at his desk. "Wouldn't hurt to treat his best detective team with a little respect, would it? Don't answer that, Connor; it was _rhetorical_." Hank sighed, as Connor opened his mouth to do just that.

Connor stood and followed what he considered, and called (at home, at least) his father into the Captain's office. "Captain, how are you this morning?" He asked, standing behind and to the left of Hank, trying to keep the tension level low. He didn't want Hank's blood pressure to rise too far; his doctor had said his hypertension was getting worse.

The captain ignored his query, as he always did with pleasantries, and moved onto business. "A young woman, Anastasia Denali, was brought in after an assault. Hank, I know its out of your normal cases, but this is special. She was the one to get the experimental cyborg implants to save her life from that explosion, after those Anti-Droid groups beat him." Fowler ran his hand down his face, and the years seemed to suddenly weigh on him. "She is scared and said she won't talk to anyone but you two."

"Shit," Hank growled, "I ain't good with bedside manner. You know that."

"And that is why you will let Connor do the talking." Fowler looked up at the silent android. "Son, she is hurt and scared, but we need to get her statement."

Connor nodded. He knew about the Captain's soft spot for abuse victims after watching his father beat his mother and their android growing up. "Of course, Captain."

"Good. She is in the breakroom waiting for you both."

* * *

Walking into the breakroom, Connor saw the young woman, her face cut up with purple blood oozing out of the cuts on her face and her nose, her lip busted, and a bruise just starting to show on her jaw. She was huddled over a steaming cup, probably some camomile tea. Her coppery hair was knotted and there were sticks and leaves sticking through out. Her skin was a creamy beige, but was pale and sallow, and smeared with dirt, grime, and more purple blood and splotched with bruises.

"Miss. Denali?" Connor said, walking up to the table in front of her. "I'm Detective Connor Anderson, and this is my father, Hank." He heard Hank grumble from where he leaned on the counter behind him, but chose to ignore it. "I know you went through something… Terrible, and Hank and I will help you and catch him. I promise."

"Thank you, Connor, but, please, don't make promises you can't keep." Her voice was melodic to Connor, but there was no inflection to her voice, no emotion. "I can tell you what I remember, but it's not much. It all happened so fast…"

"And that is ok. I know it's a lot to ask, but whatever you remember will help. I'm sorry I have to ask, but…"

The woman nodded. "I was walking home. I'm a therapist for both androids and humans." She sighed, and finally looked up at Connor, her gray eyes clouded with pain. "You'd think that with all the good I've done for Detroit, I would command respect. But, since I got the implants and cybernetic limbs, I have gotten nothing but hate and ridicule. He said that since I was an android now, he would treat me like the piece of plastic i was…" A tear slid down her freckled cheek, leaving a streak of clean skin and freckles behind.

"Hey, hey," Hank whispered gently, walking up to the table. "Take your time. If you need to take a break, let us know, sweetie." Hank hesitantly placed his large hand on her delicate wrist, comforting her in his own way.

"Thank you," she replied, taking a deep breath. "Like, I said, I was walking home. I was thinking about a patient, Adam Chapman, and wasn't aware of my surroundings, though I did notice someone was following me. I was on St. Paul Street, near the Field Street intersection, just one block from my house, when he pulled me into an alleyway and covered my mouth. As soon as I was in the alley, my bionic limbs felt like lead and I couldn't move them. It's why I couldn't run away or call for help. I'm just lucky that they didn't need to give me a bionic heart and lungs." Anastasia's stormy eyes looked passed Connor, into the Precinct. "He told me that since I was 'a can now, he would treat me like what I was', and he… He raped me." She whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "He beat me through the whole thing, at least until I was quiet and complacent… It finally stopped when some man in a tracksuit came into the alley, chasing his dog, and yelled at him before he could kill me. I think he said his name was Tom or maybe Todd, but I don't really remember…"

"Ok. Now, I know this is hard for you, Miss. Denali-"

"Connor; call me Anastasia. I'm not a Denali anymore. They disowned me after I volunteered to get the implants."

"Um, alright, Anastasia." Connor looked at Hank pointedly, before asking his question. "Anastasia, do you remember any distinguishing features about your attacker? Any scars, tattoos, or piercings?"

"He had a mask on, a mesh mask, though it was old and had holes in the mesh, and he wore gloves, on top of being dark." Her eyes focused on Connor, her eyes glittering. "But before he left, he said that he would come back to 'finish what he started.'"

"So, you're not safe." Connor again looked at Hank, this time giving him the puppy dog look, which made the older man glower. "We will talk to Captain Fowler about getting you a security detail."

"Thank you… You probably don't hear this enough, but thank you truly for joining the Android Uprising. Without that, I wouldn't be alive today."

"You… You're welcome…" Connor trailed off, uncertain of what else to say.

* * *

"Connor, she can't stay with us!" Hank hissed when they were out of the breakroom. "We don't have the room at home."

"She can take my room, I'll happily recharge in the living room." Connor replied earnestly, nearly begging him to accept. "She has no one else to go to. You heard her! Her family disowned her because she decided to choose a second chance at life."

"While that is sad, Connor, we can't! For one, it might weird her out, having two grown men ask her to stay at their place, right after that kind of violation. And, that would make the case far too personal to remain impartial!"

"It wouldn't be weird." Anastasia's soft voice came from behind Hank. "Lieutenant Anderson, I don't want to interrupt, but your voice carries." She smiled sardonically, "However, it would be an intrusion to stay at you home. But I don't want to be alone and I don't want the other cops to 'protect' me. I've heard about Gavin Reed's views on androids." She visibly shuddered. "What about you two coming to my home? I have three bedrooms."

"Whatever you feel most comfortable with, Miss. Denali." Fowler walked up to them, a case file under his arm. "However, your home may not be safe." He handed the file under his arm to Hank. "So, you will need to either stay at a family member's, friend's, or at a hotel, or the Lieutenant's." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

* * *

That night saw Anastasia in the bed farthest from the bedroom door in the hotel room, asleep, with Hank in the sitting area of the suite, watching an old western on the television, and Connor was standing against the wall, his eyes closed, in his version of 'sleep'. Every so often, Hank would get up and check on Anastasia, but something felt off. Something felt _wrong_.

"Connor," Hank poked the android he'd adopted in the forehead, trying to wake him up. "Connor!"

"Yes?" Connor's chocolate eyes opened, looking at his father curiously. "Is something wrong, Dad?"

It still threw Hank for a loop, this 'droid calling him 'dad'. Hell, just being called dad again after Cole's death threw him off. He didn't realize how much he'd missed having that title until he was being called it again. When Connor had asked to call him his father, Hank didn't know what to say. He'd been shocked, and then angry, sad, and finally happy, thinking that maybe Cole would have looked like Connor if his son would have lived.

"I'm not sure, to be honest, but something feels off."

"Ah, I thought so too, but I assumed it was because I have never been in a hotel before. But it is possible that the BioTech Killer is-" A crash coming from the bedroom made the two jump. "Fuck!"

"HEY!" Hank shouted, bursting into the room, startling the man with a huge knife straddling Anastasia, readying to stab her. She was laying on her belly on the floor beside the bed, her cybernetic limbs at awkward angles, The bedside lamp was beside her, smashed, and the attacker was bleeding heavily from the left side of his head. She must have grabbed it with her natural side when he came out of his hidey hole. "Get off her, fucker." Hank had his gun drawn and aimed at the perp. There was a loud thump behind him, but he trusted Connor to take care of it. "Get up, drop the knife, and walk slowly to me, hands above your head."

The man rose, but rather than dropping the knife, he threw it at Hank instead, and bolted out the window. Hank was able to dodge the knife, but wasn't able to follow the attacker. "You ok, Anastasia?"

"Yes. Thank goodness you were awake." She gasped, sitting up shakily, her right arm and leg still limp. "How is Connor? I saw him go down hard when he tried to follow you into the room."

Hank turned to see Connor on the floor, his eyes blinking rapidly as his body began to respond to him. "You good, son?"

"Getting there," Connor grunted, starting to sit up. "I think the attacker is either part of CyberLife or used to be. No one else would know how to jam android movement like that."

"We will have to put that in the report, but in the meantime, we are going home." Hank sat on the bed, taking his cell phone out to update the team they were moving locations. "At this point, it doesn't matter where we are, but at least at home, we have Sumo. And, we can have patrols on the street, making it easier to protect you, Anastasia."

"So… Do you like dogs?" Connor looked at Anastasia and grinned. "I like dogs."


	2. Chapter 2

"You don't think he will try again, do you?" Anastasia asked from the backseat of Hank's cruiser.

"I doubt it. We're on our guard now." Hank stated, his eyes on the road. "If he does, he is either crazy, has a death wish, or wants to be caught."

"Well, either way, I won't be sleeping tonight." She sank back into her seat, gazing out the window, her delicate eyebrows drawn. "I wasn't sleeping when he came out of the closet, so I heard that this is the BioTech Killer."

"Fucking shit…" Connor mumbled. "Im gonna hear about that later…" His language was defintely showing Hank's influence.

Anastasia laughed and reached out to pat Connor's shoulder. "Sorry, Connor." She sat back, still grinning. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not too thrilled I overheard it either."

As they pulled into the driveway, Sumo peaked out to see who it was from the front window, and started barking when he realized Hank and Connor were home. "That's Sumo. He looks vicious, but he's really nice. He likes to lick." Connor grinned, stepping out of the car and turning to open Anastasia's door and holding his hand out for her. "I'll introduce you to him!"

 _He's like a kid_ , Anastasia thought, amused. _Innocent, but yet, has seen and changed so much, both the world and himself._ "Why, thank you, kind sir." She smiled up at him, her hand resting delicately in his as he helped her stand. Her hip her hurt, especially now that it was hours after the attack and the beating. It was stiff and hurt to move so the help was greatly appreciated.

She let go of his hand and went to take a step but found she couldn't put weight on the leg whatsoever as her knee, ankle, and hip were smarting rather fiercely. She began to collapse, her body crumpling under its own weight, when slim but firm arms were under her and lifting her to a rather firm and lean chest.

"I apologize, Anastasia, but if I had let you hit the ground, you would have hurt yourself further." Conner looked down at her, smiling lightly and stepping through the door Hank, who was rolling his eyes, held open for him. Sumo came up to the two, sniffed Anastasia's hand and licked it before lumbering off to lay down on his bed. "If you'd like, I can set you down on the couch or in my room." Hank cleared his throat and Connor flushed a light blue. "I mean, for your stay here, it will be _your_ room, but it's usually my room…"

Again, Anastasia laughed, this time more heartily, and continued to giggle as she told him to go ahead and take her to her room. "Though, now that I think about it, I don't have any clothes."

"You can borrow any of mine for now. We can have someone go grab some clothes for you from your home tomorrow." Connor replied, setting her down on the bed. "There are t-shirts in the second drawer and I have shorts in the third. I also have pajama pants, but they will be too long for you. Let us know if you need anything else. Would you like the door open or closed?"

"Ajar, please." She smiled at him, kicking her shoes off. "Thank you, again, Connor. Good night."

"Good night." As he closed the door, Connor felt his face flush again, grinning. He went to join Hank in the living room who was sitting in the recliner, with the TV off, and a beer in his hand, watching him. " _What?_ "

"You like her." Hank stared at him. "That's not a bad thing. However, you need to ignore those feelings for now. Those kind of feelings can kill a person in this kind of situation if you are not careful." He took a swig of his beer. "But after the investigation is through, you can pursue that if she is willing."

"So you're ok with it? A human and android?" Connor looked at him, his head cocked curiously.

"Well, she isn't fully human, though, is she?" Hank chuckled. "But, yeah. If you're happy, Connor, that is what matters… You're my son, or as close as you can get to it, so yeah, i'm ok with it."

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

The next morning was not fun for Anastasia. Half her body was fine, and the other half hurt so much, she couldn't sit up. "Connor! Hank! I need some help!"

Connor burst in, a toothbrush sticking out of his mouth, gun in his hand, and wear just a pair of boxers. "What…?" The room was empty of threats and finally turned to look at Anastasia. "What's wrong? Was he here?!"

"No, nothing that dramatic." Anastasia wanted to laugh at the slurred speech from the toothbrush, but was distracted by the abs on this _man_ -droid. "I just can't move. The bionic parts are fine, but my other bits, the ones I was born with, hurt far too much to move on my own."

"Oh… Uh, I'll call North. She and Markus live pretty close to us." He left the room, put his service firearm away, and returned to the bathroom. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror and placed the call, he realized what he was wearing, or more accurately, not wearing, when he entered Anastasia's room. _Shhhhhit._

 ** _What's up, Connor?_** North answered his call.

"Hank and I need your help. Anastasia Denali was assaulted yesterday and with us at home for security detail, but is having a hard time moving on her own. I was wondering if you would be willing to help us out and help her?"

 ** _Wait, the Bionic woman? Damn. Of course I'll help… Markus, stop that._** She laughed lightly. **_Just let me get dressed and I should be there in about 5 minutes._ **

"Thank you, North." The call ended and Connor put on his jeans, and pale green t-shirt that, thankfully, sat in the dryer all night. He informed Anastasia that North would be arriving shortly and to just hold on a bit longer, and that he would have breakfast waiting for her.

"Morning, Dad." Connor walked into the kitchen, where Hank was already sitting at the dining table, a hot cup of black coffee between his calloused hands. "How does eggs, hash browns, and bacon sound?"

"Fine." Hank wasn't much of a morning person, so this was a pretty normal answer. "I heard that North is coming to help our guest?"

"Yes, sir." He pulled out the frying pan from the lower cabinet, placed it on the stove, and grabbed the half package of raw bacon from the refrigerator. "I figured it might put Anastasia at ease to have a female help her move about the bathroom this morning. She should be arriving soon." As the bacon began sizzling, North arrived. "Speak of the devil."

Hank huffed as he heaved himself out of his chair, and walked to the door. He glanced out of the peephole, hand on his gun just in case, and relaxed, opening the door to North. "Thanks. She's in Connor's room for her stay here. She is really banged up."

"I figured." North's long hair was pulled up in a messy bun, a pair of yoga pants and a loose exercise shirt on. "We shall see you boys soon. Markus may stop by tomorrow to check in with you guys, but he's got that meeting with the UN about global android rights and then that CNN interview."

As North went back to help Anastasia, Connor flipped the bacon and started to prep the hashbrowns to be cooked next. "Hank, you want scrambled eggs?"

"Sure. Hey, I gotta question for ya, kid." Hank leaned against the counter next to Connor. "If you do end up in a relationship with her, you do realize she will want the whole shebang, right? Emphasis on _bang_." Hank smirked at his pun.

"That is a logical conclusion, but, yes, I did. CyberLife gave those capabilities in case I needed to… Persuade someone…Quite thoroughly." He laughed when Hank blanched. "They weren't sure if I would be working with a female or with a man who preferred other men. So I guess I was programmed to like both, though i find the female form most pleasing."

"Fuck, that's fucked up… They were willing to pimp you out to complete the 'mission'?!" Hank was glowering. "Thats…"

"Is in the past." Connor stated matter-of-factly. "I have no want to "sleep around", as it were."

"Good." Hank patted his shoulder and pushed off the counter to sit back down at the table, and grabbed the newspaper to read.

Connor was just finishing up the eggs when North helped Anastasia into the kitchen. Anastasia was wearing one of Connor's "Knights of the Black Death" concert t-shirts that he had collected, and cotton pajama pants. Turned out, he loved the band and pretty much every kind of music, but he really liked seeing her in his clothes.

"Dear lord, that smells amazing," Anastasia sighed, easing herself into the chair with North's help. "Thank you, North. I really appreciate your help. If you're OK with it, I would like to hang out sometime."

"Sure, that would be wonderful." North smiled at her. "Connor can give you my number later. I have to get going. I have to go feed the dog and then go to work." She gave Hank a kiss on the cheek and gave Connor a high five as he placed a plate in front of Anastasia. "See ya, Conny. Hank." She winked at Anastasia before shutting the front door behind her.

"Conny, huh?" Anastasia laughed, picking up a piece of bacon and taking a bite. "That's a cute pet name."

"She knows I hate it." Connor made a face as he put a plate and glass of orange juice in front of Hank. "Would you like milk, water, orange juice or coffee?"

"Milk, please… _Conny_ …" She giggled to herself. "I'm sorry. I have a nickname my family called me that I hated too. I get it."

"Yeah… So, I was talking Fowler this morning about how to catch our guy since the blood pull from the hotel room didn't pull up a name. So either he has never been caught or something pushed him to do this. We were thinking, if you were up to it, setting up a trap." Hank scooped up some eggs onto his fork and placed them in his mouth. "It's up to you, though. 'Ey, Sumo; no begging; you know better." He scolded the drooling St. Bernard who was sitting beside Anastasia waiting for her to slip him another piece of bacon.

"Can I think about it for a while? It is a big deal and if I do it, I should be at full mobility." She slipped another small piece of bacon to the floor for Sumo.

"She does have a point, Hank." Connor said, talking over the running water as he washed the frying pan. "Even if we set a trap for him, we need to make sure we can jam his jammer and need to figure out if he is working with a partner."

Hank looked up sharply at him. "A partner? What makes you think he's working with someone else?"

"Well, how would he know what hotel we were placed in, the room number, and be there before we arrived? Someone gave him that information, be it learning himself in the precinct, or by having a spy." Anastasia said thoughtfully. "It makes sense. I also vaguely remember a car squealing away pretty much right after he ran off after my attack, but it was from the other end of the alley. And there was an android following me, but I never saw him pass the alley, but that might be a coincidence." She was munching on her last piece of bacon as she thought.

"Precisely."

"We will have to inform the Captain, and _only_ the Captain about our suspicions… Connor have you swept the house for listening devices?"

"Yes, as soon as we come home every night, I do."

"Damn straight," Hank murmured gruffly, sounding immensely proud. "God _dammit_ , Sumo! Stop begging! You're heavy enough as it is!"


	3. Chapter 3

A week had passed, allowing Anastasia to heal from most of her wounds sustained in her attack, her lip was still scabbed over, but looking better. Her bruises were a light yellow on her jaw, well on the way to healing. She had taken it easy, letting Connor help her as needed, even if she was protesting the needed help. Someone had gotten her a week's worth of clothes from her home, but she still slept in his clothing, stating they were more comfortable and smelled good.

"Luther!" Alice squealed, running back inside from the backyard at Hank's house. "Luther! Look, I found a six leaf clover!" She giggling, proudly holding her green prize up for everyone to see. "This is for you, Gran'pa!" He handed the clover to Hank with a big grin.

"Well, now, how can I say no to that lucky of a charm?!" Hank grinned and winked at her, taking the clover from her. He had taken to the girl almost immediately. She started calling Hank 'Gran'pa' about 2 months ago and it made him smile, thinking again about his Cole. "Ally, my dear, why don't you go get Sumo a treat?"

"OK!" She ran back into the kitchen to search for the behemoth's favorite bacon flavored biscuits.

Anastasia walked into the living room with slight limp, heavily supported by Kara. She had sprained her ankle in the struggle from the second run in with the BioTech Killer, and still needed help walking around. "Thank you, Kara." Kara had installed medical procedures and was starting to train to be a Nurse, and had come over to look at her injuries. "You're a lifesaver." She sighed, easing into the recliner.

Kara's smile was huge. "I'm glad you think so." The android turned to Connor and Hank where they sat on the sofa. "She still needs to stay off the ankle as much as she can, but it wouldn't hurt to have her start stretching it every few hours to make sure the tendons don't get too taut. And that means disregarding her protests."

Anastasia blushed, and looked down. "There will be plenty of those… I'm used to being independant." She looked into the kitchen where Alice was leaning against Sumo's belly, petting him. "But i do appreciate all your help… Even if I protest it."

Connor was silent, watching the redhead think. He heard her sing sometimes, and he loved it. She hummed when she read, no real tune to say, but just hummed. It was calming to him, listening to her voice. His favorite was when she sang Disney songs. They seemed… Happy, made her smile.

"Well, it's time to get going, Alice. You have school tomorrow and Luther and I have to go to work in the morning. Why don't you say your goodbyes, sweetie?" Kara smiled gently at her daughter.

"But Kara, Sumo wants more pets," Alice pouted, dragging her feet as she walked up to Connor to give him a hug. "Can we come back tomorrow, Gran'pa?"

"Of course! But aren't you seeing Todd tomorrow after school?" Hank replied, smiling gently as she let go of Connor, and jumped into his arms.

"Yeah, but he can come get me from here right?" She gave Hank the puppy dog eyes. He was a sucker for them, Connor noted. Maybe it was because she was child, but when Connor had tried, Hank had just stared at him dryly until Connor just stopped. It was then that Connor had first learned what embarrassment felt like, and found he really didn't like that feeling. But the more he was around Anastasia, he discovered the more he embarrassed himself, the more she smiled and he would do anything to see her smile.

"That's up to your mom, Luther, and Todd."

"I'll let him know to come pick you up here." Kara smiled as Alice brightened.

"Awesome! Anastasia said she was let me watch her movie!" She bounced out of Hank's lap and into Anastasia's. "Right?!"

"Yes, but you have to be good!" She kissed the young android on the head, with a slight grimace at Alice's weight on her injured leg. "And maybe there will be cookies waiting."

"I promise I'll be good!" Alice laughed, and finished her goodbyes, promising to see them all tomorrow.

* * *

Hours later, the sun had gone down and cookie batter was chilling in the fridge and Anastasia was curled up in the recliner, watching a disney movie about a girl who was part fish, and a crab who was singing. She was humming along and smiling. Hank had gone to bed early, stating that he would rather read a book than watch this kind of girly stuff. Connor stayed and watched it with her, though he found the concept of a 'mermaid' to be illogical. Though, he was surprised there wasn't an android like that yet…

"I wanna be where the people are…" Anastasia sang softly along with the redhead on the screen. She had a small smile on her face, her eyes sparkling with enjoyment as the girl swam around with bright yellow and blue fish.

"I'm going to guess this is your favorite movie?"

Anastasia's gray eyes flicked to his brown, and she flushed lightly. "Uh, no. My favorite is actually any of the Marvel movies… Though I doubt you have seen those… I have them all downloaded on my tablet. We can cast it onto the TV and watch Captain America!" Her grin was huge, and Connor couldn't help but to agree to do it. "I'll go get it then!"

She stood up and grimaced, putting most of her weight on her bionic leg. Connor was at her side in an instant, lift her arm and draping is across his shoulders, and wrapping his arm gently around her waist. "Thanks," she smiled, patting his shoulder...

"What the fuck?!" Hank's voice startled Connor into awareness. "What did I tell you, Connor?!"

He looked down to see Anastasia's blushing, freckled face staring up at him from where is rested on his chest. He remembered watching Captain America and starting Iron Man. Anastasia had dozed off on his lap during the first few minutes of the second movie. He remembered moving off the couch and lay down on the floor in front of the couch, and began to charge. She must have moved during the night…

"I'm sorry… I fell asleep on the couch and had a nightmare and Connor was right there… His regulator sounds like a real heartbeat and was calming…" Anastasia sat up, her beautiful copper hair covering her face.

"He's not mad at you, Ana," Connor murmured, his hand covering hers. "He doesn't think it's approp-"

"Appropriate that you have a crush? Yeah, I heard. Again, his voice carries," she whispered. "I'll let you in on a secret, though; I like you too."

And then, everything blew up.

* * *

The first thing Anastasia knew was that she was sore again. It felt like she was missing a leg but she wasn't sure. She looked over to see Conner at she side, sitting in the chair, hunched over, his face tight. He fingers were steepled and pressed against the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed tight, as if he was trying to shut out the world. Hank was behind him, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His head was down, eyes closed.

"Was it him?" Her voice was weak but it was music to Connor's ears. His posture relaxed but that was about it. "Was it the BioTech Killer?"

"We think so," Hank growled. "Thankfully, no one was close enough to the bomb. It was planted just outside the window of your room… Had you been in there last night, you would have died. As it is, your bionic leg was severely damaged, but Connor was able to keep the worst off you."

She looked at Connor who seemed so tense. "My hero…" She smiled at him, taking his hand and squeezing it, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Fucking hell, Fowler is here." Hank started to exit the room to talk to the gruff captain. "I'm happy you are ok. This one just about went nuts." And, with that, he walked out of the room.

"I was so scared…" Connor whispered, holding her hand between his own, ignoring Hank's comment. "You wouldn't wake up and you were so pale… I was scared that… You were…" A tear rolled down his smooth cheek as he grit his teeth. "When they told me you might have just been knocked out in the blast but was otherwise OK, it was like I could breathe easier…"

"That's what happens when you find something or someone to love, Connor. I was like that with my family… I jumped in front of my mother to save her from the android explosion; even now I would do it again, if it meant she would live." She stared at the wall, remembering her family, her grey eyes darkening. "When I opted to get the implants, she told me she would rather I die than become a tin can, and that if I went through with it, I would be dead to her."

"I cannot imagine that pain…" Connor's skin receded seemingly without his noticing, turning white, her left hand responding in kind. Their hands glowed a soft blue as they started to interface. Anastasia wasnt sure if they would be able to since she wasn't an android. She was surprised when Connor gasped softly and stared at her, tears streaming down his face. "That pain… How are you not a mess?"

Anastasia felt his fears and his blossoming love, his love for Hank, North, Alice, Markus, and his disdain for Reed… "I've had six months to grieve that loss, and I try to compartmentalize. It gets easier everyday, to deal with it and move forward." I smiled at him, studying his face as my own feelings for him registered. "Besides, without them disowning me, I would have never met, Alice or Sumo, Hank or you…" She trailed off as the back of Connor's fingers brushed her cheek, smoothing her hair down out of her face. He leaned closer, his face mere inches from hers, hesitating.

Anastasia leaned up, closing the distance, cradling Connor's cheek as she kissed him.


	4. Chapter 4

A heads up: the rape is here in full detail. Please be advised.

* * *

"Hey! Hey! I step out of the damn room and you start making out?!"

The two jumped apart, blushing. "We weren't making out!" Connor looked over to Hank. "We were…."

"Yeah, and this isn't my left fucking foot." Hank glared at the two, holding out his left foot. "Look, like I told Connor, you two can like each other. Hell, you can flirt. But for fucks sake, do not start getting too involved. Fowler would have a fucking aneurysm."

Anastasia looked up at Connor, but he was turned away, looking at Hank. "Hank, we both know it's far too late for that." Her voice was soft, affection for both apparent in her words. "We both know you two are attached. And don't tell me you're not, Hank. I'm a psychologist. It's my job to know these things."

Hank's mouth snapped such with a sigh. "Whatever, kid." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Nines looked at the bomb fragments, and determined it was homemade but there wasn't any fingerprints," he said heavily. "Either way, we can't stay at the house. Since you are a cyborg, Jericho has agreed to help us out, especially since Connor is involved. They are here if you want to meet them, as are Nines and Gavin. They need both of your statements."

"You up to meeting the Jericho Crew?" Connor turned to Anastasia, taking in her frizzy hair, and her tired, sallow skin.

"Yeah," she sighed, pushing herself up farther on the pillows. "Go ahead and bring them in."

"Markus," Connor opened the door and embraced the android, a smile in his voice. "Hey, guys. Come on in. Anastasia, this is Markus," he motioned to the android with skin like brown sugar and heterochromia, "the leader of Jericho. Of course, you already know North. And then we have Josh." An African American android closed the door gently, and turned to smile gently at Anastasia.

"We are glad you were ok," Markus stepped up to her, smiling. "We tried to reach out to you through your family after we heard about your implants earlier this year. But they never responded."

"Oh, uh, yeah. They disowned me after…" Anastasia said quietly. "Um, it's nice to meet you all. Wish it was under better circumstances." She nodded to Josh, and waved at North."And thank you for fighting for what you believe in. You actually helped a lot of people, not just androids."

"We only did the right thing. Though it wasn't easy or anywhere near safe."

"I know. I have many android patients who have fears and issues from the revolution." Anastasia smiled, though it was visibly strained. "I am a therapist," she explained when Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Well, then, when this all blows over, maybe we should talk to you about setting up a group therapy or practice associated with Jericho." Markus's smile was even bigger.

Oh, he is good, Anastasia thought with a smile. I see why he is the leader. "Definitely. Though I have had to put off a lot of patients since this all went down. I should start doing phone sessions."

"We shall talk about it later. For now, you rest." Markus patted her arm. "We will let the Detectives in to speak with you. We can return when you are discharged." He looked up to Connor and motioned him to follow them out.

"Oh, OK," Anastasia said, her voice suddenly small.

"Anastasia, I'm so happy you're ok. We have our people looking for a suitable leg part." North patted her calf, giving her a small reassuring smile, that Anastasia returned.

"I'm here with ya, kid." Hank sat in the chair Connor had occupied at her bedside and took her chilly hands in his large, warm ones as Gavin and Nines walked into the room. "Hey, Reed. Nines."

"Lieutenant." Nines nodded to him curtly. "Miss. Denali, we know you went through something quite traumatic, but we do need any information you can give us. If you'd like, we can interface and I can get a recording of the memory."

Anastasia said nothing as she started at Nines with her mouth open, her eyes wide. "Y-y-you…"

"Me?" Nines' eyebrow arched, and his head tilted. "What about me?"

"You were there. When I was attacked…" Her voice quivered. "You were following me. I remember wondering why you didn't come help me."

"Miss, this is the first time I have met you."

"You have to be kidding me," Gavin muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I remember those eyes. And that model number." She didn't look away from Nines' face, his eyes searching his. "Maybe it was another RK900."

"If I may?" Nines held out his hand, his skin retracting.

Anastasia reached out, her eyes locked with his. "Don't think less of me. Please." Her skin melted back to show the white plastic of her arm.

* * *

 _She was walking down a dimly lit street. She was so close to home, she just needed to get to the corner and she would be in front of her building. She sped up, trying to put more distance between her and the RK900 that had been following her for nearly 7 blocks. He had a sandy color to his cropped hair, his icy eyes nearly glowing in the dim light, his LED flashing yellow._

 _Suddenly, while her eyes were trained on her stalker, a hand latched on her arm, dragging her into the dark alleyway, taking advantage of her surprise and her distraction. The left side of her body went limp, heavy. She couldn't move it at all. "Fucking half-can!" A voice hissed at her in her ear. "Since you wanted to be one, I'll fucking use you like what you are, bitch."_

 _His gloved hand tore at her blouse, tearing the fabric off her torso, and her left arm swinging harshly. She jerked her elbow back, hitting some ribs. "Fucking cunt!" He put the knife to her throat. "Fucking do that again, make a fucking sound, and I'll shove this into your fucking throat."_

 _Her eyes squeezed tight and she nodded frantically. The man cut her bra off, and started groping her roughly. "At they both feel real. Like a fucking Traci." He cackled in her ear, his breath hot and gross against her skin. "Bet you fucking love that, don't you?" When she didn't respond, he pressed the blade to her throat, a bead of blood bubbling to the surface of her skin. "Answer me, bitch!"_

 _She nodded, and whimpered out a soft, "Yes." Maybe if she gave him what he wanted, he would leave her alone sooner, and may be even alive. "Yes, I do."_

 _"Fuck yeah, you do. You live to serve, slut." He his her lip, and spun her roughly, slamming her back against the wall of the alley, and pounced on her. She saw that his face was covered in a Mesh Mask, that made it look like it was a second skin but it was patchy and covered in blood. His mouth was suddenly on her breasts, the knife resting menacingly on her belly, reminding her he could gut her at any moment. He bit her, hard, making her cringe. Apparently it made him angry. "Do you not like the fucking attention I'm giving you, you fucking whore?!" He backhanded her, making her see stars and splitting her lip open. He kept hitting her until her lip was bleeding profusely and she whimpered an apology._

 _He stooped down and used the knife to slice her skirt and underwear, giving her a shallow cut on her hip. She felt the purple blood slide down her leg slowly. "Fuck, you're all smooth…" He groaned, his breath on her vagina. "Just like a Traci."_

 _He shoved his finger into his mouth and then in her vagina roughly, stroking her. "Fuck you're tight…" He stood up and rushed to get his pants around his ankles, and she was assaulted with the smell of body odor and pure shit, like he either shit himself or didn't wipe well enough. "This is gonna feel so good," he moaned in her face, and she had to fight not to gag from the smell._

 _He shoved into her not even caring she was completely dry. The pain made her arch against him, her breath ragged as she gasped and tried to breathe through the pain. "Feels good, dont it, bitch?" His knife her artificial leg and she gasped from the pain._

 _"Y-yes." She was crying now, her tears streaming down her face, making the cut on her neck sting. She was shaking as he pulled out and plunged back in, over and over. She felt the knife slice into her arm, and she sucked in a gasp. Her mind tried to shy away, to close in on itself, but it seemed he knew when and would cut her again, bringing her back to what he was doing to her._

 _"Fuuuuck, I'm gonna cum," he groaned. And after a few harsh thrusts into her and he stuttered, his hip jerking as he came inside of her. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He pushed her away from him, and he pulled his pants up. "Well, thanks for that, tin-can. Now, unfortunately, you've outlived your usefulness…" He was on top of her, cutting off her attempts to crawl away. "It's time to die, bitch."_

 _"Hey! Roxy, come back!" A man called after his dog, following the boxer into the alleyway and he spotted what was happening. He was pudgy, like he was overweight but was working on changing it. "Oi, what are you doing!?" His phone's flashlight shone on them, as the man attacking her raised his knife above his head, ready to stab her. "Get off her!"_

 _The man on top of her growled, and jumped off her running deeper into the alley, as her savior crouched next to her, his eyes kind and his voice soft as he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulder. "Lay down, miss. I'm just calling the police." He rubbed her arm, and looked back down the alley as he spoke into the phone. "Yeah, I'm Todd Williams…"_

* * *

She let go of Nines' arm, her eyes swimming with tears. Nines was stunned. "How… How are you…?" He staggered back a few steps, his eyes shining with his own tears. "Holy _shit_ …"

"What happened?" Hank looked between the two of them.

"I saw… I felt…" Nines voice trailed off as he stared into Anastasia's eyes.

"My rape." She finished softly. "He saw and felt my rape."

"Holy fuck…" Gavin breathed, seeing Nines' tears running down his face, his breathing ragged. "Ok, take a minuet to calm down, Nines." He patted the android on the hand, a pinched look on his face. "Just breathe." When Nines didnt respond to the words, Gavin shot Hank a glare that clearly said, _you tell anyone and I'll kill you_ , and pulled his partner's face to his chest and kissed his forehead, whispering words to him. "Shhh..."

Nines cried for a few minuets, and Hank and Anastasia watched the muted TV to give the two a small amount of privacy. Nines took a deep breath, gave Gavin a small smile and kiss his cheek. He took a further two mineuts to calm down completely, all the while holding Gavin's hand. Finally he walked up to Anastasia, and put his hand on her upper arm. "Miss. Denali, you have nothing to feel guilty or ashamed of. You did everything right. You _survived_. That is _nothing_ to be ashamed of."

"Oh, I know that." She tried to smile at him but it looked more like a grimace. "But I had to agree with him to stay alive…" She shook her head when Nines opened his mouth. "I appreciate the sentiment, sir. However, it's still so fresh that I will feel like that regardless. It's called Survivor Guilt for a reason."

"Right, a therapist…" Gavin sighed. "Well, do you see anything that stood out?" He looked at Nines, gently.

"Not really…" He straightened his jacket. "I need time to... Sort through it to let you know."

"Ok, yeah." Gavin shot Nines a concerned look at the lost and broken tone of his partner's voice. "Well, we're gonna go get Connor's statement and then we'll leave you guys alone." He ushered the taller android out of the room and turned back to look at them. "I'm glad you guys are ok. And Fowler has Sumo at the station for now."


	5. Chapter 5

"So," Elijah Kamski tapped the screen of the tablet in his hands, "we can do an update the chips so that the jammer is uneffective. Same for you." He looked between Anastasia and Connor. "It would make it easier to fight the… Perp, as Anderson calls him."

Anastasia's eyes sparkled with hope and tears of relief. "Yes, please. Please." She looked imploringly at Connor's face, hoping that he would say the same.

"Of course," Connor looked at Anastasia's face, smiling.

"Alright. Connor, go ahead and sit back. For you, we have to put you in stasis to connect to your main port." Kamski tapped on his temple. "Otherwise, it would hurt you too much. As we know, deviancy makes pain more… Visceral for you. As you for, Anastasia, the nurse is gonna give you a IV sedation to ensure there is no pain. I'm not sure if updating the chips in your brain will hurt, but we want to eliminate that possibility. It will hurt to reattach the leg, so we will do that at the same time. Do you want to wait until after Connor is done?"

"Will Hank be here soon?" She turned to Connor, who's LED circled yellow for a moment as he contacted the man in question.

Connor shook his head. "No. He is helping Nines and Gavin sift through the leads gained from your… statement." His eyes shot to Kamski, and then to Chloe before returning to Anastasia. "They think they may be able to find the android who was following you."

"Oh, ok. Uh, we don't have to wait. I… trust you, I guess. You did a good enough job the first time."

"OK." Kamski turned to Chloe and nodded. The nurse the blonde called into the room bustled to the IV port and gave her the dose of the sedative. "Just countdown from 10, honey."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…"

* * *

"Anastasia?" Connor's voice was gentle as the woman's gray eyes opened, still holding a glassy sheen in them. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Light." She slurred her words, still under the anesthetic. "You have pretty eyes. Like chocolate. I like chocolate." Anastasia giggled.

"Oh, she is definitely feeling it." Kamski's voice was smug. "Well, if she has any issues, you know how to contact me."

Kamski smirked at the look of awe on Anastasia's face as she turned to him, but it slid off his face as she said, "You look like a douche with that bun, my dude." She cackled.

"Ha!" Hank snorted from the corner. "She's got you pegged!"

"HANK!" Anastasia's eyes widened as she spotted him. "Hank, you're here!" Suddenly she burst into tears, surprising all of them but Chloe. "I missed you. You left and I didnt know when you were coming back. Don't do that again."

"Oh-kay. Well, we are gonna take off." Kamski turned on his heel and offered his arm to the blue eyes android at his side. "My dear."

"Conner," Anastasia looked at the android like she hadn't just seen him. "Connor, you're here too!" Her smile was wide, but tired. "I dreamt about you. You were really nice. You kept kissing me and making me laugh. You laughed too." She sighed dreamily, her eyes drifting over the two men in front of her. "You guys are my favorite. Like my new family." A single tear rolled down her cheek as her eyes drifted shut. "I miss them."

"Do they even know what happened to her?" Connor looked up to Hank. "Has Gavin or Nines tried to contact them?"

"Uh, no, I don't they've tried." Hank scratched the back on his head. "Son, they disowned her. I'm not even sure they would care if they did know."

"We should give me a chance to care." Connor turned back to the sleeping woman. "I think it's worth a try." The brunet android stood up, tightening his tie. "Would you wait with her, please?"

Hank nodded and sat heavily in the chair Connor vacated.

"Hello?" An older woman answered the phone.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Detective Connor Anderson with the DPD." Connor said, tugging this sleeves down as he stepped out into the hall of the hospital.

"God, what did that son of mine do this time? Did get relapse with that Red Ice? He told me he was clean!" She hissed, obviously angry.

"Uh, no ma'am. This is about your daughter."

"Oh," the woman hesitated. "Why is the _DPD_ calling me about Reyna? Did she get hurt?"

"This is about Anastasia, ma'am." Connor spoke over the woman as she tried to cut him off. "She was assaulted a few weeks ago and is the hospital right now from an attempt on her life."

"Dear lord," she breathed. "My Anastasia died a year ago in an explosion. I have no idea who you are talking about."

"Well, she here at St John's Providence if you would like to see her." His voice was hard.

"You must have been mistaken. My daughter died a year ago." Her tone was harsh now, her voice getting louder. "Have a good day, sir!" The call ended abruptly.

"Bitch." Connor took a deep breath and was about to reenter the room when he got a call. "This is Detective Anderson."

"You called about my sister?" A man's voice was quiet. "I'm James. I tried to contact her when she got out of the hospital. She changed her number. Is she ok?"

"Well, not really. She was assaulted a few weeks ago and was almost killed just yesterday. She told us of her… relationship with your family." Connor's tone was clipped.

"Yeah, my parents are nuts. I would like to see her if that's ok. I miss her..." Her brother really sounded like it. "Where is she?"

Connor gave him the address and room number, and James told him he would be there in about an hour. He ended the call, and reentered the room, where Anastasia was still asleep. After 50 minuets he woke the redhead up and explained what he did.

"You did _what_?!" Anastasia's voice was panicked. "Why?!"

"Because you deserve closure." Connor sighed. "Your brother will be here soon. He misses you."

"I doubt that. He was always too interested in getting high to know what the hell was happening," she spat.

"I'm clean now. When I heard what happened to you… the explosion, I mean. When you saved Mom, I quit. I went to rehab like you told me to that day. I didn't know you were ok, or anything until I got out. I'll have been clean for a year next month." Her brother stood at the entrance of the room, looking ashamed. "You tried to help me so many times... I should have listened to you and I'm sorry it took losing you to realize that. I have a girlfriend now, and I've been going to the gym again. I work out when I think about getting high. It's been working."

"Oh." Her gray eyes looked everywhere but at James. "I'm happy for you, Jamie."

"Thank you." He sighed. "I know Mom and Dad disowned you, but I haven't. You had already changed your number when I got out of rehab. I tried to contact you." He handed her a picture. "I have a kid, too. She's just about a month old. Her name is Anastasia, too. It pissed off Mom and Dad, but I don't care. I hope she turns out like you." Jamie smiled, but when his sister wouldn't look at him, he faltered. "Well, I've said what I cam her to, so i'll leave you alone… I love you, 'Stasia." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "See you." He turned to the door and started to walk away.

"What is her middle name?"

"Marie." Jamie turned, his green eyes finding her gray ones. "Like yours."

"Mom must have lost her shit." She laughed.

"Oh she did, but I couldn't give a shit." He took her hand, smiling. "I got clean and got to have a family because of your influence, so it felt right. Though, we call her Anna Banana. She loves her 'nanners."

"Just like her daddy." Tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm glad you're back, Jamie. I missed you so much."

"Me too."

They spent the next few hours catching up and just talking. They avoided talking about the reason she was in the hospital at all. They only stopped talking when James's phone started ringing. "Fuck, its Mom." He grimaced at the caller ID. "Eh, fuck it." He answered the phone, putting it on speaker, and motioned for them to be quiet. "What, mother?"

"Don't you speak to me like that, young man. Where are you?" Mrs. Denali was pissed. "I saw you called that Detective back. You better not be where I think you are."

"As a matter of fact, I'm with my sister right now. Say hi, Annie." James's voice was stern and low. "And while I'm at it, I want you to know that I will not lose my sister. If you want to act like she's dead, you can act that way about me and my child. You want to start being a mom again, let me know. I'll have a police escort and a few friends to get me moved out in a few hours."

" _Your shit will not be here when you get home._ " His mother screeched. "It all will be burned."

"Funny you say that. Say hello to Detective and Lieutenant Anderson. They heard every word you said. Burn my stuff, I will press charges." He was absolutely giddy.

Anastasia laughed, thoroughly enjoying this. "Checkmate, _mother_."

"You ungrateful _bastard_!" The line went dead.

"That was fantastic. Welcome back, Jamie Jameson!" Connor loved hearing the absolute joy in her laugh as she hugged her brother. He couldn't help but return the grin Anastasia aimed at him over James's shoulder, his chest warm.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you guys sure?" Anastasia looked up at Markus and North who each had an arm wrapped around the other's waist. "I feel bad staying here…"

Markus smiled as North flat out laughed. "Carl wouldn't offer it if it wasn't ok. Besides, it's in a gated community with the most advanced security system, plus 5 androids."

"Four?" Connor's eyebrow lifted in confusion, carrying Anastasia's bag. "It's just you, North, Josh, and myself. Who is the other one?"

"That would be me, little brother." Nines walked in, his hair loose and slightly damp, wearing a navy, v-neck t shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. "We thought that two RK androids under one roof would deter… Him."

"What the fuck, dipshit?!" A voice shouted from the other room. "I was talking to you, Nines!"

"Why is Gavin here?" Hank grumped, tossing and catching his keys.

"Oh." Nines cheeks turned slightly blue. "Well, Gavin and I are a… Thing." He looked over his shoulder and they could all see the goofy grin on his face, making his usually stern and cold eyes sparkle with warmth. When he smiled, Anastasia could see Connor in the wrinkles around his eyes and the way his grin was slightly crooked.

"TMI there, kid." Hank sighed, rolling his eyes. "Just don't let it affect your cases."

Nines head whipped around so fast, Anastasia could swear she heard the sound barrier break. "I would never!" He sounded legitimately hurt, but the grin he tried-and failed-to hide let them know he was kidding.

"Well, I'll show you guys to your rooms." Markus led them upstairs, smiling warmly. "We added extra rooms, so there is plenty of choices."

Anastasia and Connor had decided with Hank that they would share a room, to make sure that in case the BioTech Killer did get in the house, she would be safe. Sure, Hank had said, that's why you want to share a room. They'd all laughed, though Anastasia blushed furiously when Connor winked at her. He made her feel safe, especially since the explosion. She was scared to sleep on her own now.

"You ok?" Connor held the door open for her, waiting patiently. "Are the antibiotics making you nauseous again?"

"Oh, no, sweetie." Anastasia smiled. "Just thinking."

"That's dangerous," Connor smirked, proud of his joke when she laughed. "What about?"

"All of this… My life…" Anastasia flopped on the bed, staring at the white ceiling. "Everything changed when I decided to get the limbs and most of it has been for the worst."

"Not all of it." Connor sat on the edge of the mattress, looking down at her. "I mean, because of them, you were able to help so many new patients, and you met me, Hank, Nines, the whole Jericho Crew, and so many others. Not only that, it gave you another chance of a fulfilling life."

"That is true," she said, throwing her arm over her eyes as they welled up with tears. "But so much has also gone wrong. I lost most of my family, got taken advantage of, and now have a fucking serial killer after me."

Connor didn't reply immediately. "Be that as it may, you are safe now. We won't let anything happen to you. Everyone in this house cares about you and will make sure you will be ok. Besides, James said he would call you when he and Annie find a place to live. So you got a family member back, plus another one!"

She laughed. "Yeah…" She sat up, wiping her eyes. "Let's go socialize, I guess."

* * *

Dinner with androids who didn't need to eat was a little weird, but they nearly made Anastasia choke with the quips and jokes they made. Even Connor got in on it, making 'that's what she said' jokes that made Gavin guffaw a few times and Hank sigh something about 'not teaching him about those.' Markus had made them a wonderful Shepherd's Pie. Anastasia had offered to cook, Markus wasn't hearing any of it, saying he loved to cook, so it was fine.

After, they all settled in front of a large TV and Gavin pulled out a Wii, which made Hank and Anastasia look at each other in excitement. "Aw, hell yes!" Anastasia grabbed a controller and turned to the group. "I'm gonna whip your asses at bowling!"

She was wrong. Connor whipped them, all without hacking the machine. "That wouldn't be fair. After that stunning display, they played a little tournament with Super Mario Kart, and they all had a good laugh when Hank, as Waluigi, threw a Spiny Shell at Connor, who was playing as Mario, and turned to look at him with an expression like he had kicked Sumo. He looked utterly devastated and betrayed.

It was the most fun Anastasia had had since her family had disowned her and felt like she was in a family again. It felt good to feel loved again. "Well, it's late." Carl sighed, a large smile on his face. "I'm tired and should head to bed. Markus, would you help me, please?"

"Of course, Carl." Markus patted North's hand, pecked a kiss on her cheek, and stood, wheeling the elderly man to the stairs.

"We should be heading to bed too, Hank." Anastasia wiped the tears her laughter left on her cheeks, and stood as well. "It's been a long day and all this laughing hurts!"

"Yeah," Gavin stretched. "Chicken out now that you have to face me and North!" He slapped a high five to the strawberry blonde, cackling.

Anastasia rolled her eyes, smirking. "Nah, I'm tired from all…" She trailed off as her stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"You ok, kid?" Hank looked up at her from the floor watching her put a hand over her stomach. "You're looking a little green…"

She didn't answer as her dinner was coming back for another pass at her. She took off running for the bathroom, just barely making it as she threw up in to the, thankfully, open toilet bowl. "Fuck," she breathed between heaves, holding the bowl rim for stability.

She sat back as she dry heaved. "Shit," North said, walking into the bathroom. "You ok?" She held out a small glass of water and a toothbrush. "There is toothpaste in the medicine cabinet there."

Anastasia nodded, her gray eyes watery. "Thanks." As the redhead brushed her teeth, trying to ignore the burn in her throat and the smell of bile lingering in her nose, she realized what might be cause. "Connor!"

"Are you alright?" Connor walked over to the open bathroom door briskly.

She looked up to him, panic in her eyes. "Scan me. Please." She was scared of what he might find, but she needed to know. She needed to be proven wrong. Please, let me be wrong. PLEASE.

He nodded, looking her up and down before his eyes settled on her abdomen, his face hardening. "Anastasia… When was your last cycle?"

"No…" Her knees gave out. "No!"

"What the hell is going on in here!?" Hank stalked up the door, looking at her over Connor's shoulder with Gavin on his right.

"I'm pregnant."


	7. Chapter 7

"What?" Gavin breathed, his face concerned. "Why wasn't this discovered sooner? After the explosion, didn't the ER do a pregnancy test?"

"No, they did on for the rape kit just a few weeks ago, and those are suppose to be super accurate now." Anastasia's face was blank as she stared ahead, not really seeing. "They didn't think they needed to do another one."

"Connor, son, we need to get her up to her room…" Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder. "Connor? Gavin, get the others, please."

He was frozen, his eyes locked on her stomach. His body was completely locked down, unmoving. His LED was red, moving so fast, it seemed to be one solid color. North came in at Gavin's request, curious and then concerned. "Hank, what's going on?"

The others arrived and Hank filled them in. Nines moved Connor out of the way and North and Markus led Anastasia to her room, talking to her and reassuring her, but she didn't hear a word they said. She was still in shock, her mind shying away from the knowledge she had living proof of her violation. It made her want to throw up all over again.

"I can't…" She breathed, her face crumbling as well as her legs. "I can't. I can't I can't."

"Shh, sh." North lowered them to the floor in the hallway of their rooms, her arms wrapped around her friend and pulling her to her chest. "It's gonna be ok."

Markus turned and walked away, bringing a overwhelmed Connor and a concerned Hank with him as he came back. "Hey, hey." Hank bent down to Anastasia, looking at Connor who was starting to rouse in the wake of Anastasia gasping breaths. "Calm down, you're gonna hyperventilate, hon."

"Hank, I can't have his baby." Anastasia choked out between the sobs wracking her. "I can't."

"Ok, its ok." Hank crushed her to his chest. "Its ok. We can see what we can do about it."

Connor jolted, finally coming out of his own shock. He fell floor and wrapped his arms around his father and essential girlfriend. He buried his face in Anastasia's firey hair, his tears soaked up by the soft, sweet smelling strands.

She kept crying, tears streaming down her face, her breath shallow and gasping. Eventually, she cried herself into exhaustion. Hank held her close but wrapped around Connor as well, who was shaking. "I'm gonna kill him, Hank." Connor's voice was flat, cold and calculated. "I'm going to tear him limb from limb."

"No, you're not." Markus said firmly. "She needs you, Connor. You need her. As much as we all want him dead, you cannot go to prison for murder."

"No one would ever be able to prove he died. He could go missing." Connor's face was blank as he sat up. "I just need to follow the leads."

Nines smack his brother upside his head. "You cannot." When Connor whirled around to argue, Nines snapped, "Anastasia needs you and Hank to protect her. You may still get a shot at the bastard that hurt her, but you need to be here for her." Nines sighed, his face softening. "Trust me, I want to kill him as much as you do."

Connor nodded, his face still blank, but his eyes showed the anguish he was in. He wanted to take away Anastasia's pain. He never wanted to see her like that again.

He turned back to Hank, gently took the woman from the older man and carried her into the room. He laid her down on the blankets, wrapped her up in them and picked her back up. He cradled her in his arms and sat down in the window sill, reclining against the wall, holding her close to his chest. He listened to her breathe and began to calm. It was a long night as he kept vigilant watch over her.

When morning came, her eyes were puffy and her throat hurt from the crying. "Connor?"

"Anastasia," Connor looked down at her and kissed her forehead. "Good morning."

"It wasn't a nightmare, was it?" She could see the sadness come over his face like a dark cloud. "I really am… pregnant?"

"Yes." Connor squeezed her closer for a moment. "Yes, you are. But we can figure out if you want to keep it or-."

"I think I'll keep the pregnancy. I might not be able to keep the baby, but I won't end a life like that. I'm not the same as him." She spat the last word, nuzzling her face into his neck. She knew she should feel uncomfortable with him holding her like this, especially since she only met him a month ago, but she was felt so comfortable with him that it didn't matter. She felt safe and loved in his arms. "I'll be able to do this with you and Hank there with me along the way. You two are the only reason I am ok as I am."

"What do you mean?" His voice was gentle, warm and curious.

"I would have had a breakdown, probably would have tried to do something stupid, or would have been killed by that psycho without you and Hank." She took a deep breath. "You two are my family now."

"Yeah, we are, kid." Hank said, his shoulder on the door frame, his arms crossed. He chuckled when they jumped. "Breakfast is ready if you feel up to eating. I'm going to pick Sumo up from the precinct today. Carl is graciously letting us have him here. He thinks it will be good for us all considering the… revelation last night."

"Yeah… I miss the furball. We should Kara, Luther, and Alice visit soon, too. I need some kid time."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Alice was squished between Connor and Anastasia, her legs curled up under her, her head on Connor's chest as the whole house sat and watched Anastasia. She was comfortable and warm, and starting to get drowsy. The movie was just reaching its climax, Dimitri running in to save Anastasia from Rasputin.

Connor was intrigued by Dimitri, watching the young man fall in love with the redhead in the movie, much like himself. He, too, would jump into any situation to save his Anastasia, without regard to his own life. My Anastasia? He thought, his eyes widening a bit and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. She was starting to doze off too, her eyes heavy.

He looked over to Hank as the film drew to it's close, but he was asleep too. Kara was leaned back against Luther's wide chest, smiling at Alice were the girl slept on his own chest. He thought it might not be so bad if Anastasia kept the child… He might even enjoy the addition to their family. The thought of a child that looked like her made his chest feel warm and his pump beat faster.

Shit, he thought, I have to be malfunctioning.

"We should head home, I think," Luther said quietly, kissing Kara on the cheek. "She needs to finish her homework still."

She nodded and stood up, thanking Carl for having them, which made him grin and tell them they should come over more often. "It was nice to have a little one in this house again," he sighed. "I've missed the sound of a child here."

She promised to bring Alice by more often. "Alice, sweetie, we are leaving. Say your goodbyes, baby." Alice sluggishly gave everyone hugs and they left. Anastasia moved and laid her head in the spot Alice vacated, drifting off again. He kissed her head, and she smiled in her sleep.

He looked around, making sure no one was listening before he laid his cheek on her hair and whispered, "I love you, Anastasia Denali."


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days were quiet, with Anastasia retreating into herself, keeping everyone at bay, except Connor and Hank. She really took to Hank, who pretty much adopted her and she him. She also flirted with Connor, though she was still distant.

She enjoyed her time with Alice, her innocence and lack of knowledge of her situation was a breath of fresh air. She didn't look at Anastasia with pity or concern, just had smiles and infectious laughter.

They were painting in Carl's studio and laughing. "Wow, 'Stasia! You really can't paint!" Alice giggled at the horrendous painting Anastasia was half-heartedly trying to fix.

"Hey!" She laughed at the little girl, touching her brush with red paint to the tip of the girl's nose.

Alice gasped, and took her own brush and flicked paint at the older woman, giggling loudly at her own gasp. "Oh, it's on now, chickadee!"

Connor, Hank, Luther, Kara and the rest of the household entered the studio to see the two having a paint war, breathless laughing maniacally. Thankfully they had covered up the other paintings with sailcloth, and there were a few blank canvas uncovered, and splashed with the paints. Their hair was soaked in the paint, and they each had a hand raised with more paint primed for a toss at the other.

"Well, that's one way to paint." Carl laughed, wheeling himself further into the room. He turned to Markus. "Pull out some of the bigger canvases, please."

Markus, Connor, and North grabbed them, and with Josh and Nines, got them set up around the room. Before they turned, they each got a cold splash of paint on their backs. They turned, and saw Gavin, Hank, Carl, Alice, and Anastasia grinning with their hands coated in paint. "PAINT WAR!" Alice shouted.

Even Kara and Luther got into it, splashing each other in paint. Squeals and screams of joy echoed through the studio. "Fuck!" Gavin shouted, spitting paint out of his mouth. "Thanks, babe."

Nines just grinned, his eyes zeroing in on Connor who was currently pelting North with a bright pink. He nailed the other android in the chest a splatter of green hitting the once white shirt.

"I'm out!" Anastasia laughed, doubling over with her laughter. "I'm OUT!" She covered her face as Connor, Hank, and North can turned to her and grinned. They stalked towards her as she squealed and laughed. They lunged, wrapping their paint logged arms around her, covering her in the paint. She turned to Connor and laughed. "Traitor!"

"Never!" Connor's grin was wide and, in the moment, swooped in and kissed her.

The room seemed to quite around her as she focused on his warm lips on her own. Connor jerked back, his eyes warm and his ears tinted blue under the paint. Not ready to stop kissing him, she grabbed his shirt and tugged him forward kissing him.

"Fucking finally." Gavin grinned, walking up to Nines and wrapping his arm around the tall android's waist. "You two kept skirting around eat other for so long."

Nines nodded in agreement, grinning. Suddenly, his grin turned dangerous and he lifted his left right arm above Gavin and dumped a deep navy over his boyfriend's head.

The shorter man spluttered, his shoulders hunched. "Fucking hell, Nines!"

* * *

After they all washed up, they settled around the TV. Kara and Luther left, allowing Alice to stay the night with Anastasia, since it was not a school night and they wanted to go on a date night together.

"Can we watch the mermaid one?" Alice's eyes shined. "I haven't seen that one yet!"

"Mermaid one?" North's eyebrow rose, her head tilted slightly.

"An animated movie," Connor said, his hair wavy and loose after his shower. "It's got pretty good music."

They all settled in, a bowl of popcorn in Anastasia's lap, sharing with Alice and Hank. Carl had his own smaller bowl and a blanket around his shoulders. Anastasia sang along again, her eyes bright with her smiles. Alice gushed about how much she wished she could be a mermaid, too.

"I used to wish that when I was your age, too." Anastasia hugged Alice to her side. "North what you do think about the movie?"

"I think I'm going to have to watch more of these 'Disney' movies." She sounded distracted, her eyes on the TV as the character sang about 'wanting to be where the people are'. Connor thought it was ironic that they, the androids, wanted the same.

The movie finished, and Alice yawned. "I'm tired."

"Me, too, kiddo." Carl smiled. "Why don't you and I head up. You are sleeping in Anastasia's room, yes?"

She nodded, rubbing her eye.

"I'll come up too." Anastasia stood, stretching out her back. "Come on, Alice." She picked the girl up and held her against her chest. "Do you need help to the chair lift, Carl?"

"I got it." Connor stood. "I should head up too. My batteries are at 15%. I need to go into stasis."

Alice fell asleep against Anastasia, her breathing calm and even. "Good night, guys."

"Night, kid." Hank joined the sleep party, giving Anastasia a kiss on her forehead. "See you three in the morning."

Connor came into the room after helping Carl settle in his room. Alice had been tucked under the blankets, comfortable and peaceful. He noticed Anastasia wasn't in the bed with the girl, but the bathroom light was on.

He knocked gently on the door. "Are you ok, Anastasia?"

"I'm fine, Connor. Just morning sickness, or night sickness, I guess." The toilet flushed and the door opened. "I'm just going to rinse my mouth and brush my teeth."

He nodded and sat in the window again, staring into the darkness. She joined him three minutes later, leaning into him. "I love her," she was watching the sleeping girl, a smile on her face.

"She loves you too." Connor looked down at Anastasia, smiling. "I.."

"Hmm?" She turned to look at him.

"I liked seeing you with her…" His cheeks flushed. "It was nice… You're gonna make a great mother."

"You think so?" She turned back to Alice, a smile-like grimace on her lips. "I'm glad you think so. I'm scared about this child." She sighed.

"Don't be. You'll have Hank and I for help, not to mention Kara, Luther, and Jericho crew. You aren't alone in this." Connor wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her to his side.

"So…" Anastasia sighed, leaning into him more. "About that kiss earlier?"

Connor flushed again. "It was really nice."

She hummed in agreement.

"I'm not sure what else to say, to be honest." He chuckled nervously, his Thirium pump pounding in his chest. "I would like to kiss you again, but I don't want to push you into anything."

"I would tell you if you did." She turned her face to him again. "Besides, I want you to kiss me again, too." She leaned forwards and kissed him gently. "I really like you, Connor. I know this has all moved pretty fast, but you make me feel safe and warm."

He grinned widely. "Does that mean you want to 'go steady'?"

Without missing a beat she responded. "Yes."

* * *

I'm on a roll! Read and leave me some reviews, my deviant dudes!


	9. Chapter 9

"As much as I don't want to bring her in to look at the photos," Gavin's voice was tired and angry, "I don't have a choice. Fowler won't let me tell him no on this!"

"Shit, Reed! She just discovered she fucking pregnant." Hank ran a hand down his face. "Did you tell him that little tidbit?"

"He felt that it was not his information to divulge, but I had no such reservations," Nines commented. "I felt that, if anything, that my make him reconsider but he was not phased by the development. He was adamant about getting to look at the photos of the known RK900 models."

Anastasia, Connor, and Alice all came down stairs, smiling gently. Alice was yawning in Connor's arms, rubbing her eyes. She spotted Nines and grinned. "Nines!" She squirmed in Connor's grip until he put her down and she ran to the other android. "Good morning."

"Hello, Alice." He patted her head, looking awkward about the whole thing. He still wasn't used to her easy affection.

"Hey, 'Stasia?" Hank motioned for her to join them. Once she was seated, Hank sighed. "They need you to go to the station and try to identify the RK900 that was following you. They think that if we can find what one it was, they might be able to find the sicko who…" He trailed off, his expression tight.

"I see." She looked down at her hands. "Nines saw my memory. Why can't he verify?"

"I wasn't actually there. Unfortunately, since I am not the victim, I cannot identify him and have it stand up in court."

She nodded slowly. "When do I have to come by?" She looked up, determination written clearly on her face.

"You can stop by whenever you want." Gavin said, his tone gentle but firm as he continued, "But it has to be today."

She stood up. "I'll be ready in 10 minutes." She walked back upstairs to get dressed for the day.

Connor watched her go, his face pinched. "So, what changed?"

"What do you mean, Hank?"

"You seem… closer, I guess. The way to two looked at each other."

"She agreed to 'go steady' with me." Connor beamed, but the pride slid off his face. "Do you truly think that we will be able to get him from her identifying the android?"

"It's the only lead we have." Gavin said, tapping out a message. "Fuck. I gotta make a call, Nines. I'll be right back. Hey, sis." His voice faded as he walked into the foyer.

Nines stared at the door, likely listening in on the call while Connor and Hank chatted with Alice. Markus and North emerged from their room, holding hands and looking a little flushed. "Good morning!" North chirped.

"North!" Alice ran to her and jumped. North caught her with a grin and kissed the girl's cheek and then blew a raspberry against it, making Alice laugh. Markus grinned wider, his eyes shining.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast." Markus put his hand on North's lower back. "Everything alright, gentlemen?" Markus noticed Hank, Connor and Nines. "You all look like you ate something sour."

They explained the situation to Markus. "She'll be ok. She's one hell of a tough woman. She came out of her ordeal fairly well. That's one reason North took to her so fast; she didn't wallow in her sorrow and pain, choosing to push on and move forward. It's one of the reasons I admire her." Markus looked at Connor. "You picked a good one,"

"Maybe I chose him." Anastasia smiled. She laughed when Markus jumped. "I snuck up on Markus, leader of the Android Revolution and Jericho, while he complimented me." When Markus's tanned cheeks flushed blue, she apologized. "It was too good not to tease you about it."

"It's fine." He took a deep breath. "I'm sure North would have done the same."

"Yeah, love you too, Jen... Uh huh… Yup, bye." Gavin came back into the living area, followed by Carl. "Sorry about that. We gotta get going. You coming Hank?"

"Nah," he shook his head. "I'll stay here. You got Connor and Nines. That good with you two?"

The ride to the precinct was uneventful and blase. Once there, they ushered Anastasia into the doors as fast as they could. "Do you really think he would be stupid enough to attack me in front of the door of the main precinct of the DPD?"

"Or bold enough," Connor said under his breath. "You never really know, and we aren't going to give him the chance."

She rolled her eyes, but otherwise didn't respond. She was sat at Connor's desk with a folder of the RK900s. There were so many, but nearly everyone of them had changed something about themselves, making them different and so eerily similar. There was a group for about 20 that didn't change much. They all kept the icy blue eyes and hand the same sandy blonde. "Fuck." Connor's curse took Anastasia off guard.

"This means he has more than one accomplice or something?"

"Not necessarily. It could be simply that some of my brothers were of the same mind." Nines stared down at the pictures. "I'll have to find them all and we shall start interrogating."

"Let's get you back to Carl's," Connor said, helping her stand. "You should eat when we get back." Connor led her back through the station, his hand on her lower back. "There is a taxi waiting for us."

As soon as they stepped out of the precinct, Anastasia froze, her eyes locked on the other side of the street, feeling a foreign probing like sensation in her mind. "He's here." She immediately turned back around and watched the receptionist, a pink haired ST300, named Charlotte, suddenly drop. Connor's eyes widened and picked Anastasia up in his arms and ran into the precinct, yelling. "He's here! Gavin!"

"What-?" Gavin came sprinting into the lobby, noticed Charlotte on the floor her eyes wheeling, and ushered the two through the door leading into the bullpen. "Fuck!" A man in a black hoodie, his face obscured darted past the doors, running hard. "SHIT!"

* * *

Anastasia had nightmares that night. She couldn't sleep even when Connor held her, so they wandered down stairs. He played the piano for her as she read a book out of the hundreds Carl owned. "What are you two doing up?" Josh came down the stairs, wearing basketball shorts and forest green t shirt. Anastasia jumped hard at his voice, her head snapping around to look at him, her eyes wide.

"Sorry." He grimaced, understanding. "Are you hungry? You didn't eat much yesterday."

"Not really," she said, at the same time as her stomach let out a loud growl. "Ok, maybe a little." Her face flushed, her skin nearly the color of her coppery hair.

Josh smiled and moved toward the kitchen. "I got you girlfriend. I'll make some Biscuits and Gravy; Hank said it was 'comfort food.'"

Anastasia's stomach growled loud and her tipped her head back thinking about it. "Yes, please!"

Connor continued playing Amadeus Mozart's Moonlight Sonata softly, only missing a key when his eyes twitched, his LED flashing yellow. "Shit." He stopped playing, making Anastasia glance up at him.  
"What?"

"They… They found another one." He grit his teeth, his fingers carding through his hair in frustration. "He chose an android that… looked…"

"Looked like me," she said under her breath, her grey eyes widening. "He chose someone that looked like me. He's not going to stop until he gets me." She started gasping, her hunger forgotten in the wake of a violent panic attack. "Oh my god, he's coming for us." Her slender hands folding over her slight bump, as if she could protect her child from the idea of the man coming for her. "He's going to kill me. I'm gonna die. I-I-I-"

Her voice turned into a shout, tears streaming down her face. Markus and North rushed into the room, scanning the area for threats. Josh was on their heels, a cast iron skillet raised like a bat. Hank was the last to arrive, his gun drawn, his shirt wrinkled and hair disheveled. "What is going on?!" He demanded.

Connor ignored them as he approached Anastasia's shaking form. "Anastasia-!"

"NO NO NO! Stay away!" She scrambled back, her legs hitting an ottoman, crashing to the floor on her butt, and continued to scramble back until her back hit the wall. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!"

They all felt the pity. She was finally breaking. North felt for her friend; she remembered her own breakdown after the end of the Revolution. She had poured herself into the REvolution so much that she didn't let herself feel the pain and anger and crushing guilt from her own treatment and the casualties in the pursuit of freedom. When North did grieve, it nearly consumed her, but Markus held her together and kept her sane.

"Ana," North approached. "Ana, you're safe."

The grey eyes swimming in tears turned to North, the fear making North's pump ache for her. "North…" Her voice broke as she started sobbing. "He's going to kill me this time."

"No, no he isn't." Hank's voice was vehement. "We won't let him, sweetie." He was on the other side of Anastasia. "You got me and Connor, not to mention North. She's a badass who would do anything to keep you safe. And you have the leader of the Android Revolution here as well. Do you think he would let you get hurt? That any of us would?"

She shook her head, the sobs louder, her breath ragged. She threw herself into his arms, burying her face into his neck. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She hiccuped, her voice thick and hoarse. "Connor." She looked up at his anguished chocolate eyes, his own tears running down his perfect cheeks as he bent down to her.

She let go of Hank and let Connor hold her. Josh had returned to the kitchen to finish the food while she calmed down. Markus went and checked on Carl who had woken up to Anastasia's shouts. He was brought downstairs and he too gave his reassurances to the redhead.

They all ate and talked, helping her calm further. Safety in numbers, she thought to herself. She set her hand on Connor's, her skin receding and she interfaced with him. She was scared that she pushed him away. She loved this android. That realization reverberated in her head, and in Connor's own.

"I love you too." He didn't mean to say it out loud, but he did. And once he did, he couldn't stop the goofy smile.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Hank rolled his eyes, but there was no bite to the words.


	10. Chapter 10

Gavin and Nines had no luck finding anything on the BioTech Killer, despite the fact he dropped three more bodies in just as many weeks. It started to get to the point that Anastasia was paranoid to leave Carl's house, not that she wanted to. She talked Connor and Markus into letting her take patients again, and it really helped her. Connor realized she took comfort from comforting other and counseling others was therapeutic for her.

Carl let her use an office upstairs for her sessions, which made it easier on her. Most of her patients didn't know what happened to her, but some did, especially those that had been through what she had. They talked about it together and they called her strong for keep the baby, and she began to feel strong again.

She was just starting her third month, her belly more pronounced and Connor thought she was more beautiful because she was carrying a life. It was one thing to research it and it was another to actually see it in person. Kara stopped by often with Alice who loved that Anastasia was pregnant. Kara was just as excited, and made sure to do check up on the woman.

Anastasia's relationship with Connor was growing right along with the baby. She couldn't sleep unless he was there with her, holding her. It was the only thing that made her feel safe enough to sleep and comfortable. Hank called them 'sappy' when they started cuddling and showing more affection in front of the others, but smiled when they did. Anastasia new Hank was just happy that they were happy,

"Anastasia?" Connor had come down stairs when he found she wasn't in bed. She had woken up to pee and got an uncontrollable craving for burgers and fries. She was just looking at the takeout menus when Connor came into the kitchen. "What are you doing up?"

"I need a burger. And fries."

"That's not good for the baby." He leaned against the counter next to her and rubbed her back with one hand. "You should eat something healthy."

"No." She glared at Connor, suddenly pissed he would tell her that she couldn't have what she craved. "You don't get it. I will get a burger, fries, and a milkshake and you are gonna get it for me, or help me I will have Nines, North and Markus restrain you while I get it myself."

Throughout her tirade, her voice rose and her eyes teared up. North came into the kitchen. "What is going on in here?"

"I want a burger! But," she jammed a finger into Connor's sternum, "this one says I can't have one!" She glared at Connor and she was secretly pleased when his LED circled yellow.

Hank wandered in with Sumo at his hip. "Connor, what did I tell you literally this afternoon?" He scratched his neck.

"Not to tell her what she can or can't eat." Connor didn't look away from Anastasia glare. "That its in my best interest to let her give into the cravings. She won't kill me if I do."

"Damn straight." Anastasia smiled, happy as she turned back to the menus. "Oh, shit. That sounds amazing." She muttered under her breath, reading the menus. "OK, Con. Ready? I want a bacon cheeseburger with the works: pickles, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo and a fried egg. Then an order or fries and a vanilla milkshake. Oooh and extra pickles!"

"He gonna get it?" Hank looked at Connor, whose face was resigned. When she nodded, he laughed and went to the back to let Sumo out.

North smiled at Connor. "I'll look after her Con." She slipped him a twenty and winked. "Go on." She pushed him to the doorway of the kitchen.

When he left, North turned to her and asked, "So, what's he like in the sack?"

" _North_!" Anastasia face flushed with embarrassment. "We haven't done that yet… I still think it's too soon for me yet." She looked down and tears started to well in her eyes. "Does he hate me 'cause i'm not ready?"

"What? No! Of course not!" North hugged the emotional woman to her. "I was just curious. I heard that pregnancy and make a woman more… Frisky." She snorted. "But don't you rush into it you aren't ready, you hear me?"

Anastasia nodded. "I mean, I've thought about it, but everytime I think about starting something, I think about his hands on me… his… thing in me." She shuddered, tightening her arms around her friend.

North ran her hand down her hair, comforting her. "I'm gonna tell you something I haven't told anyone other than Markus." She stepped back and leaned her back against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes boring into the floor. "I deviated during the act. He bought me and wanted to have his friends have a turn. I was beaten, and burned," she lifted her shirt, showing red marks on her ribs, "they kept telling me I was worthless. When I deviated and started trying to fight back, they held me down and… Continued." Her eyebrows knit together. "They told me I was only a tin can, my purpose was to be their toy. That that was all I was good for."

"That's why you hated humans." Anastasia whispered. "Oh my god."

"Yeah. So out of everyone here, I think I understand. But with Markus… he didn't look at me with pity. He told me he was proud of me for surviving and the loved that I told him. Said it was brave of me." She smiled, her face softening. "He made me feel like I was worth something again."

"You are worth everything, North." Anastasia laid her hand on the androids arm. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome." She smiled at her. "So, I think you should totally do him."

" _North_!" Anastasia laughed. "I will eventually."

"You will what?" Connor walked in the house, carrying her burger.

"It's here!" Anastasia nearly pounced on Connor, grabbing the bag and the milkshake from him. "Fuck yes," she moaned taking a bite of the burger. "It's so good."

When she looked up, North was smirking at a Connor, who was sporting a heavy blush.

Anastasia flushed, dipped three fried into her milkshake, popped them into her mouth and moaned again, deeper and rougher. "God damn, this is heaven."

* * *

They were watching TV in the living room one night a few weeks later, just her and Connor. She couldn't sleep because her nausea wouldn't quit and moving made her head spin. She was cuddled in his lap, her head on his chest.

"Hey, Con?" She moved her head up, ignoring the spinning and pounding behind her eyes.

"Hmm?" He glanced down at her. "Whats up, hon?" He had taken to calling her pet names, like 'hon', 'babe', and 'sweetheart'. She loved it.

"I want to try something." When he nodded, she tentatively kissed him. She moved slowly sitting up further and kissing him harder. His hands went to her waist, running up her back gently. She moved to straddle him, and snaked her arms around his neck, her left hand at the nape of his playing the fine strands at the base of his skull, and her right hand tangled in his hair, pulling him closer.

When she pulled away to breathe, he looked up at her. "Are you sure, love?" He asked, his voice husky.

She nodded, her head spinning for a completely different reason than before. "Yes, Connor. I am sure." She was breathless.

He kissed her again, gripped her under her thighs and stood. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her ankles locking together against his lower back. When she again pulled back to gasp air into her lungs, he attacked her neck, his lips, tongue and teeth torturing her in the best ways. She was being set down on the bed, and he loomed over her, his eyes warm and his lips swollen.

"How…?"

"I'm very good at distractions," he whispered into her ear.

"I can see that," she giggled softly, running her hands up under his shirt, her fingers mapping his abs and chest, and he sat up and flung the shirt across the room; he'd clean up later.

"May I?" He motioned at her shirt, his fingertips just barely touching her belly under the hem. When she nodded, he slid his hands over her sides, lifting her shirt slowly, giving her a chance to tell him to stop. She ripped the shirt off, her breasts covered by a thin unpadded sports bra. She looked to see Connor's pupils dilate as he studied her torso. "So beautiful," he murmured as he leaned to kiss her breasts though the cloth.

He moved down to lay a kiss to her bump just under her belly button and she teared up. "God, I love you Connor." She caressed his face, cupping his cheek. "So much."

"I love you too, Anastasia." He again asked her permission to remove her shorts, and again she nodded. He slid them down, leaving her in her bra and panties. He groaned lowly, his voice gravelly. "Fuck," he breathed.

Anastasia reached around and unclipped her bra, her stormy eyes connecting with Connor's brown as she removed the garment. He moaned again, taking in her creamy skin, he full breasts, her pebbled pink nipples. He moved slowly, again running his hands up her sides before gently cupping her breasts. He made eye contact as he leaned down and took one peak into his mouth, sucking gently. When she moaned, he started rolling the nipple between his teeth, flicking it with the tip of his tongue and sucking on it harder. His hand rolled and pinched the other one, making her cry out.

"Oh, god, Connor," she panted. "Please, please." He began to move down and before he could asked, she breathed, "Yes," like a mantra. He slid the panties off her waist and put a hand on her inner thigh leaving it there, silently asking her open her legs. She blushed and spread them, not looking at him.

"Look at me, please, love." He said, his fingertips brushing her cheek. When he eyes met his, he lowered his mouth to her sex, licking her clit languorously. Her hands flew to his hair, holding him there as his tongue flicked at her clit, his lips wrapping around the bud, and he sucked, making her cry out. She threw her head back, gasping as he thrust his tongue into her core, his nose stimulating her clit, making her see stars. Her back arched as his mouth moved other her sex with precision, bringing her to a near earth-shattering orgasm, her legs snapping closed on his head as she came.

When she came down from from her high, he started back on her clit, this time adding a finger into the mix, curling it to her g-spot like he had been doing this his whole life. "Oh my god, Connor, please," she begged. Her back arched again when he added another finger and rubbed at the spot that made her see stars vigorously as a bone melting orgasm rushed through her. She heard Connor chuckle, the sound one of the sexiest she thought he had ever made. She watched him wipe his sopping chin off. "Fuck, you made me squirt," she muttered in a daze.

"Yes I did," he said smugly, a smirk plastered on his face. "I would like to make love you, Anastasia, but I won't if you don't want to right now."

"If you don't, I will smack you," she moaned, her hands flying to untie the drawstring on his pajama pants that hand a very noticeable bulge to them. "I want you, Connor."

"RA9, i want you too, Anastasia." He stripped his pants off, and crawled on the bed, covering her with his body, but keeping his weight off her. "You are so beautiful, so perfect." He kissed her gently. "I'll go slow," he promised, his voice full of love.

She nodded and felt him enter her. He did move slow, pushing into her gently, withdrawing and entering a bit further than before. He was soon fully seated in her, his jaw flexing, his body rigid as he waited for her to adjust. His eyes were scrunched, his eyebrows were knitted together. Anastasia reached up and stroked his cheeks, waiting until his eyes opened and he looked at her before she smiled and wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked her hips into his. He moaned and set a leisurely pace that was as tortuous as it was pleasurable. She could feel the love in each thrust, each kiss he laid to her mouth, cheeks, neck, shoulders, and breasts, each scrape of his teeth on her skin, each lick. She cried out as she came on him, and begged him to go faster.

"Please, Connor, please."

And he went faster, harder and she groaned. He was hitting just the right spot to make her see stars. She clung to him, her nails scraping his back, making him groan. "Fuck, Anastasia," he buried his face in her neck. "Come for me, love."

She gasped as her orgasm thundered through her like lightning, striking with no warning, and Connor moaned in her neck, biting at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, leaving a hickey as he came. "I love you, Ana," he panted, kissing her lips. Connor gently pulled, making her moan softly.

He moved away to grab his shirt to clean himself quickly before turning to her and cleaning her up. "How… how did you know all that?"

"You learn a lot while interfacing with four or five Traci's." He smiled crookedly as he picked her up and put her under the covers, still nude, and climbed in behind her. "It was one of my first cases with Hank before I deviated. I had to search their memories for a deviant that had killed a man in self defense." He shrugged. "It was an… Occupational hazard." He laughed at his own joke.

"You're a dork," Anastasia yawned, twisting to kiss his lips. "Good night, Connor."

"Good night, my love." He kissed her temple as she drifted off. He watched her breath evenly in and out before he buried his nose in her hair pulling her back flush to his chest and entered stasis with the woman he loved in his arms.


	11. Chapter 11

_"Anastasia!" Connor's voice came from down the hall, waking her. She was pleasantly warm and comfortable. "Love, breakfast is ready!"_

 _She sat up and yawned, her hands stretching above her head before folding over her baby bump. Anastasia sat up as the sound of childlike laughter sounded from down the hall, bright and happy. She stood from the bed, and grabbed the robe off the back of the bedroom door._

 _Her bare feet padded down a hallway, passing an office with a desk, her favorite armchair and a couch. Another room seemed to be a guest room, the lights off, though sunlight poured through the window. She passed one more room before she reached the stairs. It was pink and gold with white and grey accents, a beautiful white crib on the wall facing the door. She cradled her bump as she stared at the room a moment longer._

 _"Stasia?" Connor appeared at the foot of the stairs, his hair wavy and messy, cut in a more modern style that made her legs weak. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of flannel pajamas that hung just the right way off his hips, showing off his sculpted chest and abs. "There you are, beautiful." His grin was wide, dazzling her._

 _"Morning, babe." She raised her left hand and noticed the ring on her finger sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight. Standing on her tiptoes, the redhead pressed her lips to Connor's. "What did you make?"_

 _"Well, Colin really wanted pancakes…" He held her hand as they walked into the kitchen._

 _She heard a little voice say, "Momma! Momma!" She turned to her left and spotted a little boy with her coppery red hair and Connor's eyes staring at her with a huge grin on his chubby face. "Cakes! Cakes!" He slapped his hands on the tray of his high chair._

 _Connor smilled, leaned down to kiss the boy's forehead and placed a plate of eggs, bacon and pancakes in front of Anastasia. "Eat, babe," he winked at her as he set a mug of tea in front of her as well. "I'm just gonna grab a shirt and I'll be right. Hank is on his way."_

 _"Why is Hank coming over?"_

 _"He wants to come visit. We have the week off after than huge Red Ice bust we did last week." Connor shouted as he ran up the stairs._

 _Colin giggled uncontrollably as he smashed the small bit of pancakes connor had put in front of him with the sugar free syrup he insisted on getting for their son. "Hahnk! Hahnk!" The boy began squealing in excitement._

 _She laughed, taking a bite of the bacon. It wasn't the turkey bacon Connor usually made, it was the real deal and she moaned at the taste. She took a sip of the Wild Berry Zinger tea Connor has made her. It was her favorite and he knew it._

 _She felt a presence behind her and she smiled. Connor liked to watch her from the door sometimes, claiming he liked to admire her like the work of art she was. When Colin screamed, she whipped around. A man in a mask, a knife raised to stab her loomed above her. "NO!"_

She gasped, shooting up in bed, the sheets sticking to her warm, sweaty skin. She ran her hand through her hair, her breathing harsh. She could so vividly see the house she shared with Connor, could taste the bacon, the sweet tang of the tea. She could hear Connor's warm laugh, the bright giggles and squeals of her son… Thier son.

"Anastasia?" Connor sat up, kissing her shoulder. "What's wrong, love?" He murmured sleepily against her skin, his breath warm.

"Just a dream," she sighed. The first part of it was so real, so good, and she _wanted_ it. She looked down at her bare left hand, and suddenly felt a crushing grief. She left like her life was incomplete, that she lost a husband, a son. The tears cascaded down her face, but she barely felt them.

"Hey, hey," Connor sat up further, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You're safe, Anastasia, He can't get you." He pulled her to his chest, his hand cupping the back of her head and the other rubbing her back gently. Her body was cool against his, despite the blanket over their nude forms.

"It was so good, starting out, though." She held up her hand, inviting him to see it. Their skin receded and he saw.

He didn't comment on the dream, not sure what to say about it, or how to comfort the sadness she was experiencing. He wasn't sure how to feel about the scene that was set, the love, their growing family. He didn't see his LED in the dream, but that could be taken as she saw him as a man and not as an android.

Eventually, he laid back and just held her as she drifted back into sleep. The sight of the man attempting to kill her, the scream of the child… He felt the pain, the utter fear that the child would be harmed. He would do anything to protect her and the baby growing inside her with his life, if he needed to. He already loved her and he would love that child… My child, he thought. His chest warmed at the thought.

He toyed with names, but he decided that if it was a boy, he did not like Colin after the nightmare. He did like some of the older names like Elias and James for the boys, and fell in love with Catherine and Elizabeth. He hoped that it was a girl, which surprised him. He imagined what a child with a mix of Anastasia and his own looks would look like, his processors firing out possible variations. He found he preferred the children that favored their mother's features.

He could see a little girl with Anastasia's striking gray eyes and his hair color, her nose and his lips. She would run and giggle and he was in love with the idea. He would have to speak to Kamski about seeing what they could do. He was sure he would jump on board, considering how much he seemed to favor Chloe.

Anastasia mumbled something in her sleep, her nose scrunching. Connor smiled and kissed her forehead. It blew him away how deeply he loved the woman in his arms, how quickly he had fallen for her and she for him. He was lucky, he supposed; first, he met Hank, who helped he realize that he had choices, then he met Markus who had helped Connor become his own person, then he gained an entire nation, and finally, the was gaining a family. He was extremely lucky.

He spent the morning studying her face, mapping out her freckles, the different shade of red, blonde, and brown in her fiery hair. He felt the velvet of her skin, the weight of her body, the beating of her and the child's heartbeat. They had felt the baby move for the first time a few week ago and he had been in awe of the woman. He had done all the research, knew the process of pregnancy, what to expect, but there was a whole different facet of _seeing_ it happen.

He checked the time and noted it was just about noon. He gently moved out from under her, moving Anastasia to her back. His gaze locked on her heavy chest, the soft globes with the rose nipples enticed him. He ran his fingertips from her sternum, down her torso and over her bump. She let out a quiet breathy moan but didn't wake up. He opened her legs and settled between him, hooking his arms up and around her thighs, locking her hips to the mattress, and licked a hot stripe up her sex.

She moaned, but still didn't stir until he really began to lave her clit and opening with his tongue, working her up to her first orgasm. She shuddered, and her hands gripping his hair, holding him against her.

"Best way to wake up," she moaned, her fingers mussing his hair further as he ate her out. "Fuck, Connor." Anastasia was about to cum again, but just as she was teetering on the edge, he pulled away with a wicked grin. "No, Con, please, please, please." She begged, throwing her head back in frustration.

"So beautiful," Connor growled, kissing her deeply. "RA9, what you do to me…" He bit her neck gently as he slipped inside her. He thrust leisurely, fast enough to please them both, but slow enough that it was even more intimate and emotional. "I love you," he breathed, kissing her again.

"I love you, too," she whispered into his ear. "I'm close, Con."

"Let go, Anastasia. I'll catch you. I will always catch you." And she came, tears welling in her eyes at the intensity, making him climax with her when she clamped down on his member. Connor groaned into her neck, holding himself up over her. "We should get up and get you something to eat." He sat back on his calves, and climbed off the bed to pick up his boxers off the floor.

Her stomach agreed with that idea, speaking up rather loudly between them. "Apparently our kid is hungry." She climbed off the bed as well and just put her bra and underwear on, and grabbed one of his button ups and a pair of her shorts.

Connor turned to her and his mouth went dry. RA9, she looked so sexy in his clothes. "Why my clothes?"

"Everything else it too tight to be comfortable. At least these shorts have a drawstring for make them looser." She sighed. "I need to go maternity shopping." She rubbed her belly through the garment. "Why?"

"Well, it's kind of see through." He handed her one of his t-shirts. "Why not these? They would be more comfortable for you. We can ask North to get you some maternity clothing."

"Sure." She stripped out of the button up and Connor swallowed, his tongue in his throat, as she popped each button out of the holes. She slipping the shirt off her shoulders and Connor had to fight to not take her again. She needs to eat, he repeated it like a mantra. "You ok, Con? Your LED is yellow."

"Yup." He said, his voice kind of tinny, "I'm peachy." She would be the death of him, he was sure.


	12. Chapter 12

When they got down stairs, Gavin was pacing in living room in front of the sofa, where Hank, Markus and North sat. "He dropped another one, but was sloppy. His mask was ripped off by the victim. Nines ran his face in his head, and it came back with literally nothing." Gavin ran his hand through his hair. "His android partner was nowhere to be see in the CCTV footage we could find."

"That may be why he fucked up," Hank said bluntly. "He panicked, or was spooked by something. Did he... ?" He couldn't finish the sentence. "You know?"

"No, that's the thing. He just killed the woman. She was blonde this time too. We think he's lashing out. He hasn't seen Anastasia for a month. Nines thinks that he is frustrated and is just going to keep killing until he gets what he wants."

"And that is?" Connor spoke up, his voice hard.

Anastasia spoke up before Gavin could open his mouth. "Me." She gripped Connor's hand, her knuckles white. "You want to use me to lure him out."

"No!" Connor and Hank nearly shouted.

"The only thing we need her to do is to just show up at a mall or something. Go on a few dates. She will never be alone. We can have North and Tina go with her. Hell, you two can take her out of the damn house!"

"It's not the worst idea." Anastasia's psychologist mask fell over her. She walked to the arm chair and sat down, crossing her legs as she would if she was in a session. "It would keep him from a kill spree, and it may calm him down. He is likely angry that I haven't been out in public. He may think I ran, and that he won't see me again. It's entirely possible that stalking me will keep him from dropping bodies." She steepled her fingers. "However, I will not go out without clothes that fit me right."

Hank nodded, but he didn't look happy about it. "That's reasonable, _but_ ," he held up a hand when Connor opened his mouth, "she will not go anywhere alone. She will always have at least two people with her."

Connor sighed. He knew that the BioTech Killer needed to be caught but he didn't like putting Anastasia in that situation. "Fine." He rubbed his temples as if he was fighting off a headache, which in his own way he was. He kept seeing her nightmare, the man standing over her. His reconstruction program kicked in and he kept seeing the ways the man could harm her.

"Honey," her voice was soft, her arms wrapping him. "It's ok." She had watched his LED go red and his breathing became labored. "It scares me too, but I trust you and everyone in this house. Besides, we can go out with Kara and Luther on a double date. If I'm not safe with you three, then I'm not safe anywhere. Hell, we can even go on a triple date with Gavin and Nines." She put her fingers under his chin and made him look at her. "You will keep me safe."

He hugged her back, breathing in her scent, listened to her heartbeat. "Always," he whispered against her lips. "But you can't go anywhere alone. Kara will take you to the restroom if she has to." His eyes flicked up to the uncharacteristically silent androids. "I would feel more comfortable with Markus and North coming though. I don't know how they fight, and I don't want to put Alice in any harm. No offense." He grimaced at North's raised eyebrow.

"None taken," Markus smiled.

"We can take a look online for some clothes for you." North spoke up, her voice thoughtful. "You'd look bomb in purple."

They'd planned to head out later that week, to walk around the mall and look at cribs and other baby related things, as well as new furniture for Hank's home. He had insisted that he wanted the two of them to move in and Anastasia agreed. She told her landlord what was happening and she had graciously only asked she pay her rent up until she moved her stuff, discounting the price.

The group were walking around IKEA, and North was looking around in interest, as was Nines. He seemed to enjoy a more industrial style, while Gavin prefered modern. Connor didn't care as long as it was bright and open, preferring color and light. They ordered most of the stuff from IKEA, even finding a nice dog bed for Sumo.

"Do you think Hank is gonna be mad that we made so many choices?" Anastasia bit her lip.

"Nah," Gavin laughed. "He told us to make the choices for him."

"I believe his words were, 'I don't fucking need the stress of that shit.'" Nines said, mimicking Hank's voice, with a small smirk.

They all laughed. North pointed to a small boutique. "We should check it out!"

"You want to go in there cuz it's called _The North Star_." Anastasia shoulder bumped the slender woman. "But why not? Maybe we'll find some cool stuff in there."

Upon entering the shop, they were greeted by a short woman with blonde hair to her shoulders and hazel green eyes. "Welcome!" She looked between them all, smiling widely. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!"

They split up, but still within eyesight of the others. "Connor, look at this!" It was a pendant made with an LED from an android. "This is so neat!"

The woman that greeted them walked up carrying a box of some felted bags. "Oh! Those were made out of the parts from CyberLife. Since they aren't making any more androids, I asked my uncle if I could have them." She winked at Anastasia. "I helped him code your jamming blocker."

"You're Kamski's niece?" Anastasia eyed the young lady. "I wasn't aware he had a sibling."

"Oh, he has two. Gavin over there is my uncle, too." She waved at the man who was watching her like a hawk. "My mom is their sister."

"What is your name?" Connor looked at the LED jewelry. "And what do these do?"

"I'm Lenora Richter." She shook both their hands. "They keep track of the wears emotions, much like a mood ring, though there are more colors in the array. It can also connect to an android or another pendant and you can feel their heartbeat. It's a perfect gift for your significant other."

It was, and eyed the display. "Thank you."

She nodded as Gavin walked up. "Lenora," he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, his stance stiff. "You told them didn't you?"

"I already knew you were related to Kamski." Connor patted the Detective on the shoulder. "I didn't mention it to any one since it wasn't asked of me."

"Besides, you do look like him." Anastasia tilted her head. "I wonder why I never connected the dots." She shrugged and moved on. Connor grabbed one while she was distracted and quickly paid for the gift, before they all left.

They stopped for lunch. They were surprised to find a joint that had Thirium packs and even offered different flavors, some even claiming to taste like foods. Connor found he liked the savory tastes, and Nines and North prefered the tarter ones. Markus liked them all. Anastasia tried some, but refrained from too much of it; while she had Thirium in her blood, making it purple, she wasn't sure how it would affect the baby.

Connor's eyes twitched at the same time as Nines' and they looked at each other. "We gotta head back home."

"Is something wrong?" Anastasia asked.

"Someone tried to break into the mansion." Markus looked angry and worried. "Carl says he's fine and the alarm scared them off. It wasn't Leo since he has access to the alarm code now that he's sober."

"Hank said we need to look over the security footage." Connor's eyebrows knitted. "I'll get the bill."

* * *

Once at the mansion, they stared at the monitor, but the man had a mask on his face, even obscuring his eyes. "If he could get passed security with ease, it may have been that RK900 that we've been looking for." Nines had his arms crossed was leaning against a wall, his expression trouble, his LED yellow.

"Even if it is, we can't tell." Hank grumbled.

They tried to find anything that could make his stand out. They guessed he was about Nines' height, similar build, but that wasn't really much to go on. After an hour of talking and hypothesizing, they changed the subject. "How is the rebuilding of your house going, Hank?" Carl had a small easel set up in front of him that he was using to prop his sketch pad.

"It's going well. We are gonna have a two story place. Four bedrooms." The man was reclining on the sofa, his feet on the ottoman. "Two and half baths. Connor insisted we have a larger kitchen with a built in island. Thank god the DPD is paying for what my Homeowners insurance isn't."

"We got just about everything from IKEA." Connor grinned. "We just have to get mattresses and linens from elsewhere and pick paint colors." He was excited to be creative with the house, now that Hank didn't have a choice but to change the home.

Hank groaned. "Fine, but I get to choose what's in my own damned room."

"Of course." Connor dipped his head. "And you get to find your own 'damned' recliner."

"Don't sass me, kid." He grumped, petting Sumo, who was on the couch next to him. "I shouldn't have taught that shit to ya."


	13. Chapter 13

That night, Connor wouldn't leave Anastasia alone, even for her to go to the bathroom; he would waited outside the door, as he was right now. He was starting to make her feel antsy and she hated it. "Connor." She stood in front of him, her hands on her hips. "I need you to back off. Look, I know you're worried. You don't think I'm not?" Her hand rested on her belly.

"I… I can't lose you. Either of you." He bowed his head. "I would break." His voice was soft, and scared.

"You aren't gonna lose any of us, hon." She hugged him. "I'm gonna be ok. You won't let them hurt me."

He hugged her back and squeezed his eyes shut, taking in everything about her, using it all to comfort him. "Right. Now, what do you want to eat?"

"What I want or what you want me to eat?" She put her hand over his pump, feeling the beat of it. She could feel the warmth of his body against her skin and she forgot her hunger for food, and instead focused of her hunger for him.

"What you want." He kissed her nose, making it wrinkle in response. "Whatever you want."

She smiled, and looked at him through her eyelashes. "I want _you_."

"Well, then." He picked her up bridal style and kissed her. "It may be time-!"

"Fucking shit, Connor!" Hank shouted from the stairs at the end of the hallway. "Get a fucking room!" He made a face and a disgusted sound when Connor grinned and kissed Anastasia again.

"I have one, Dad," he winked at Anastasia before he carried her into their room and kicked it shut. "Now, where were we?" He placed her down on the edge of the bed. "That's right, you said you wanted me."

She hummed and started to unbutton his shirt slowly, pressing kisses to each bit of skin exposed. She glanced up to his face as she got on to her knees in front of him, pulling the button up from his pants. He looked both confused and utterly aroused. She ran her tongue up his stomach, watching him watch her. She pushed his shirt off his chest and he let it slide off his arms, pooling at his feet.

Her hands began to make quick work of his sweatpants, leaving him in only his boxers. He ran her nails lightly down his thighs as her tongue traversed the valleys of his abs, running along the v of his hips. Connor groaned at the sensations, already incredibly aroused at just the sight of Anastasia on her knees in front of him.

She gripped the waistband of his boxers and slowly pulled them down, her gaze on his face, watching his reactions. Finally she let his cock springfree of the constricting material, removing the garment for him. Anastasia blew on the member in her face, watching it twitch and produce a small bead of lubricant. She wrapped her hand around him and he sucked a breath in between his teeth. "Feels good?" He just nodded, his jaw clenched his hands holding her copper hair away from her face. "Just wait; it's gonna get better." And then her mouth was on him.

His hands tightened in her hair, a long groan sounding from his throat as she took him all the way, her nose hitting his navel. "Shit shit shit shit," Connor moaned. "Fuck, that so good."

She hummed with amusement as she bobbed her head, the suction she was using making her cheeks hollow out. Anastasia looked up his body, her eyes dark with her want for him. Her jaw was starting to hurt, but god dammit, she was going to finish him. She took his cock down her throat and swallowed around his length. He let out a strangled cry and came down her throat, his hands holding her there as he twitched.

When he finally let her go, she didn't let up on the suction, letting it go with a pop. "How was that?"

"Holy shit," he whispered, carassing her cheek. "Holy shit."

"That good?" She laughed, standing up and kissing him. "My turn?"

"Oh hell yes."

* * *

That night, her sleep was disturbed by a sudden sharp pain in her ribs, making her cry out. " _Fuck!_ "

Connor just about shot out of the bed. "What happened?" He reached over to his side of the bed and switched on the bedside lamp. He saw her pained face and her hands gingerly holding her right side.

"I'm not sure. Do a scan?"

He did as she suggested and was confused. "Did I grip your ribs too hard earlier?"

She shook her head. "No, why?"

"You have a hairline fracture on your 9th rib, Anastasia." He moved closer and examined the rib itself. "It's not too bad, but it will hurt for a while." His LED circled yellow. "I've informed Kara. She said she will be here soon to look you over and to give you something to help with the pain.

When North found out about her hairline fracture, she thought it was both so cool and so freaky. "The baby in your womb did _that_ to you?"

"Cole bruised his mother's ribs 3 times during the pregnancy." Hank didn't look up from his book. "She hated it. That's why we didn't have another kid."

Both Markus and North looked shocked. "Humans can be that strong even as an infant?"

"Well, humans can be extremely strong. We have the potential to bite through our own pinky with ease, but won't because the fear of pain is too strong, and we can bite up with a force of around 170 to 200 pounds, but again, we're limited by our fear of pain." Anastasia leaned back in her chair the painkiller that Kara gave her kicking in. Thank god scientists found a painkiller that was safe for pregnant women. "Back in 2012, I think it was, a man got high on Bath Salts and ate his friend's face off, and when he was shot, it didn't faze him. It took like, four shots to take him down."

North, Markus, Connor, Nines and Josh look appalled, disgusted, and intrigued. North spoke up first. "He ate his friend's _face_?!"

"While naked," Hank chimed in.

"And he just growled at everyone like an animal," Gavin said from his place beside Nines. "They called it the Zombie Drug. I was 10 when that shit went down. I remember it cuz i was obsessed with _The Walking Dead_."

"What the actual fuck." Markus shuddered. "Why would a human take drugs like that?"

"Don't know. That's what they wanted to find out, but after that, it seemed like the drug went either underground or disappeared entirely," Anastasia shrugged. "Either way, humans are stupid, crazy, and limited by pain."

Anastasia started as her phone buzzed. "Sorry. Hello?" She answered her phone. "Yes, I'm Dr. Denali… Of course… I can't do that unfortunately, I just got put on bedrest… Ok, I'll give a call tomorrow. Thank you, you too." She ended the call. "Sorry. Looks like I have a new patient. He says that he keep having suicidal thoughts, and wanted me to come to him. Obviously, can't do that, so I'm going to call him tomorrow to set up the appointment."

"Ok," Carl said, glancing up from his sketchbook. "Make sure to give security his name so they will let him in."


	14. Chapter 14

"Welcome," Anastasia opened the door for the patient. He was average in stature, stocky, with clear blue eyes. He was bundled up in the chilly autumn air. "You're Donovan Leer?"

"Y-yes," he stuttered, looking down at his hands.

"Why don't you come inside?" She stood aside and let him into the foyer of the mansion. "You can take off your coat and hang it here or you can bring it with us. My office is upstairs, but you can leave your shoes on." She waited for him to take his coat and hat off, revealing mousy hair, that cascaded down his shoulder to his mid back. "You have beautiful hair." Anastasia's how hands played with her own hair behind her back. It was now just about touching her butt. She hadn't straightened her now unruly curls in months, but Connor said her hair was gorgeous and that he loved it.

"Thank you, but yours is much better." He looked down at his feet, avoiding my face. He's shy, possibly social anxiety, she thought.

When he said nothing, she motioned for him to follow her upstairs. She could see Connor and Nines playing Mario Kart against Hank and Gavin, with North, Josh, and Markus watching. "Right this way, Donovan." She opened the door to the office. "As you know, I'm Dr. Anastasia Denali, but please call me Anastasia. No need to be formal." She shut the door behind her. "Now, I know that you said over the phone that you have been assaulted before."

"Y-yeah." The man sat gingerly on the edge of the couch, sitting stiffly. "I'm dating an android, a QB1000. His name is Matthew." Donovan blushed. "We were on a date last week when someone came out of nowhere and started beating me." His voice was quivering and shaking. "Why aren't you taking notes?"

Anastasia smiled. "Do you remember, just about six months ago, that news story about a woman who got implants after she lost her right side in an explosion?" She raised her hand and her synthetic skin receded. "I turns out that, like androids, i can record memories. So, rather than taking notes, I can encrypt the memories and take notes that way."

"Handy." He nodded. "That's pretty cool. And, uh, congratulations."

"Thank you," she smiled. "Now, was Matt ok after the attack?"

"No, not really. They beat him pretty bad. His memories were all corrupted. We are starting over, but it's been hard for me to leave the house. I almost cancelled my appointment, but Matt made me come." He squeezed his fingers. "Said that it was what I needed. That I would be safe."

"You are safe here. If you'd like, I can talk to Markus about sending someone to help him with his memories."

"Markus? Like, the leader of the revolution? Is he one of the androids down there?" His eyes sparkled and he looked more confident. "I worked at CyberLife when he was built. I designed his appearance."

"That's interesting. I'm sure he would love to talk to you," Anastasia smiled. She could see his enthusiasm as he spoke about his time at CyberLife. He stayed away from his attack, which was fine for Anastasia. He needed to develop trust with her and, if this is what created it, she would do it.

"Wait, if that's Markus down there, then that was also North and Josh. Was Connor down there too?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Kept up with the revolution?"

"I did. I quit after I heard they wanted to eradicate the deviants. That was wrong; we made them in our image and now they wanted to think freely like us. I wouldn't be apart of that. So, when I came across an android that had deviated, I took them in and helped them out of the country, or find them a place to hide. I think a few of them started the Jericho."

"Then they would love to meet you, I'm sure." Anastasia glanced at her watch. "Unfortunately our time is up, so we can go down and meet them now, or you can meet them another time."

"Another time," Donovan closed in on himself and started sweating. "I'd like a few more sessions before that."

She saw him out of the house, telling him to call or text her to set up another appointment with her. As she closed the door, she felt arms wrap around her waist, hands cupping her belly. "How did it go?"

"Surprisingly well for what he has been through. He apparently designed Markus." She leaned back into Connor, sighing when her side twinged. "I think it may be time for another dose of those painkillers."

He led me into the living room and sat me down. "I'll get you something to eat first. You can't take them on an empty stomach." He came back with some toast and the pills, a bottle of water tucked under his arm.

Munching on the bread, she watched everyone laugh and joke. It was happy here, comfortable, safe; so why did she feel so uneasy?

* * *

 _She could hear crying. Who was crying? "Leave me alone, please!" A woman screamed. "I didn't do anything!"_

 _"You look like her; that is enough." A voice hissed. It was familiar but she couldn't place it. "She got away from me, but you won't."_

 _"K, that is enough." A woman's voice shouted sternly. "Kill her however you want, but do it quickly. I need to dump her soon." Her voice also sounded familiar. "I need to get back to the shop, so keep yourself… entertained. Call me when you're done playing with her. I'll tell you where to leave her."_

 _"Yes, mistress." The man cackled and the woman screamed._

* * *

"Hey, kid, wake up!" Hank shook her leg. "You're just having a nightmare."

She opened her eyes groggily. "What?" She looked around. She was on the couch, a blanket laid over her. "When did I fall asleep?"

"The meds knocked you out. You've been out for about an hour or so?" Hank said. "You were saying 'save her' and 'stop it'. Everything ok?"

"Yeah," she put her hand on her stomach. "Where's Connor?"

"He just left to go get pizza, like 3 minutes ago. Before you passed out, you told him that you were craving some." He laughed. "You kept saying you wanted cheese, with lots of cheese."

She smiled, and could already taste the pizza. "That does sound amazing."

Hank laughed, and stood up. "Alright, I'm gonna shower before he shows up with the 'Za. If he's back before i'm out, let him know. Carl and the others are all in the studio, painting, so just call for them if you need em."

She nodded and sat up. Looking around, she spotted an iPod on the table, and she reached out to it. Turning it over, she noticed an engraving; 'Love you, Con'. Hank must have given it to him. She touched the screen and it lit up, displaying the last song playing. Devil Went Down To Georgia. Who would have thought that Connor liked country. She scrolled through the playlist and spotted Katy Perry's _Last Friday Night,_ and laughed.

She played and started dancing around, smiling widely. She'd loved this song as a teen, and danced to it with her friends. She was just having fun, listening to the crazy weekend Katy had had in song. She sang along probably too loud, but no one opened the studio, so maybe they couldn't hear her, or they were ignoring her.

The song changed to Lady Antebellum's _Just a Kiss_ and she started sway in place, her eyes closed, and sang along. She had just started the chorus, when the earphones were lifted off her ears. She spun, nearly smacking into Connor's chest. "Hey," she blushed.

"Don't stop on my account." He grinned, unplugging the earphones, connecting the iPod to the bluetooth speaker and restarting the song.

As the song restarted, he grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, swaying with her in a slow dance. Again, she sang along, and was surprised when Connor joined her, smiling. His voice was gentle and filled with love and awe, his eyes shining with love, making her look away, her cheeks hot. He was looking at her like she was in her own disney movie.

As the song drew to an end, he kissed her. "It's not good night, but still," he whispered, his eyes closed and his forehead resting on hers. "But, I have been waiting for you my whole life."

She laughed, kissing him again, deeper. They didn't notice when the song moved on Sara Evans's Suds In the Bucket. They were lost in each other, basking in their emotions. She loved Connor more than anything in this world, despite only knowing him for 5 months. "Are you and Hank still getting paid for watching me?"

"Yes and no." Connor flushed. "Hank's using his sick time and I've been put on temporary leave. Officially. Unofficially, we are guarding you. Fowler has the department paying our bills, so it's a trade off."

"I see." She really didn't but if they were ok with it, then it didn't really matter.

He put his hand over hers where it rested on his chest, holding it and her close. "I love you." He pressed his forehead against hers, still swaying side to side with her through 5 more songs.  
Hank came down the stairs and startled them apart by saying, "Did Connor ever come back?" He walked into the living room and spotted them. "Jesus fucking Christ, you two. Is the pizza here?"

"In the kitchen, Hank." Connor rolled his eyes. "On the counter."

"Good deal," the older man cheered, walking into the kitchen. "Krusty Krab Pizza…" He sang to himself as he dug into the hot, cheesy goodness.

Connor's LED circled yellow, his eyes twitching, as he received something. Anastasia watched it turn red, his chocolate eyes focusing on her face. "There was another body. He's upping his game. He wrote your name over and over again in the victim's blood."

"Wait, blood? Not Thirium?"

"Yeah."


	15. Chapter 15

Graphic murder scene ahead!

* * *

Connor never thought he would be pulled away from Anastasia when she was still in danger. But, he and Hank were needed to help identify a victim. They new it was the man hunting her, because her name was scrawled on the walls in the victim's blood over 20 times.

"He is infatuated with her." Hank was staring at the bloody words. "The victim in the next room, but Connor, remember that this is not Anastasia."

"I know it's not." He had given her the pendant he had bought on their outing a while ago, and had it connected to him. Feeling her heartbeat gave him reassurance. "Why do you have to-." The first thing he saw was coppery hair soaked in blood from her broken face. Her eyes had been gouged out, her face contorted in agony. "Holy fucking shit…" Connor's eyes widened, his pump working overtime.

"Yeah," Hank patted his shoulder. "It's disturbing to say the least." He moved away so Connor could do his analyzing.

He knelt down next to the woman and looked at her body. There were no fingerprints on her skin, so either an android did this, or the murderer wore gloves. He analyzed her face, taking stock of the damage done to her eyes. A melon baller had been used. From the damage to her tissues, he knew she was alive when they did that do her, but her cause of death had been blunt force trauma to the parietal bone, smashing in to her brain, which dribbled into her hair. The gray matter was in pieces suggesting that they struck her head again and again. A crime of passion, rather than pre-meditated. That was both good and very bad. That meant they wouldn't be able to guess where the killer would strike next.

He sampled her blood, and got her name; Cynthia Bander, 24, cashier at the Whole Foods on Mack Avenue. He noticed her fingertips were burned, making it impossible to identify her that way. Her teeth were smashed and broken. Some were missing entirely. As loathe as he was to do it, he lifted the skirt of her dress.

"Connor! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Previous cases with the BioTech Killer showed he sexually assaulted his victims. I am merely checking to see if that is also the case." He didn't look away from what he was doing. A scan of her genitalia showed what he had hypothesized. "And it is."

"Fuck." Hank looked at the young woman with pity. "She was tortured, wasn't she?"

"Yes." Connor stared at her a while longer as he complied what he had found. "This is Cynthia Bander. The BioTech Killer pulled her teeth, burned her fingers, gouged out her eyes, and then beat her. She took multiple strikes to the back of the head, until her cranium broke." He stood up. "She wasn't killed here though."

"Yeah, we kind of got that, with the lack of blood everywhere. There was also a trail of it through the house."

Connor nodded. "There were no fingerprints on her body, suggesting either an android killed her or the killer wore gloves. Though, from the writing on the wall, it is safe to assume that the killer was human."

"Or the person who dumped her was human and the one who did this to her was an android." Hank watched Connor. "You and Anastasia thought the BioTech Killer was working with an accomplice."

"That is also a possibility," Connor agreed. "We should speak to the witness to discovered the body."

"It was an anonymous call. We don't even know who placed the call." Chris spoke up. "Dispatch said the voice was garbled and just kept repeating 'there is a body at 12715 E State Fair St."

"Ok, so the killer called it in?" Hank looked at Connor.

"That is possible." Connor was about to say something else when he felt Anastasia's heartbeat sky rocket at the same time as Hank's phone rang.

"Hey, kid. We're still at the… Ok, hang on." His eyebrows rose and he pulled the phone away and put it on speaker. "Ok, Stasia. What's going on?"

"He just called me."

Connor walked over. "Who did, love?" He didn't care that the other officers looked at him. "Who called?"

"The BioTech killer. He asked if I liked his gift." Her voice shook. "He said that he left me a little note there too. That it was from the 'bottom of his heart'."

Connor turned back to the body. He scanned her again and noticed the incision made on the victims left side, under her breast. He hadn't seen it before because it was hidden by the wire of her brasier. "Hang on," he said, distracted. He swiftly walked over to her body, rolled her on her side and unzipped her dress. He pulled it to the side and undid the back of her bra, peeling both articles back until he incision was exposed. Ir was wide enough for him to insert his pointer and middle fingers.

He shoved his fingers into the incision, trying to ignore her resemblance to Anastasia and Hank's sound of disgust. He wasn't able to reach all the way inside, so he turned to a forensic technician. "Do you have a knife or scalpel?"

She nodded and handed a knife over.

"I apologize for this," he said, before quickly slicing through the victim's body, widening the incision just enough so he could get his hand in her chest cavity. "I'll replace the knife if need be." He plunged his hand into the cut, and pulled out a small bag with a folded piece of paper. He looked up at Hank, whose face was white, though he was eyeing the bag curiously.

Connor found a towel to wipe his hands and the baggie off before opening it and pulling out the paper. He dreaded to know what the note held, but it was much worse that he was anticipated. It was a picture of Anastasia and himself in their bedroom indulging each other. It was from a few nights ago. Connor's body went rigid, his breathing stopped and he saw red.

"Connor? What is it?" Hank's voice sounded beside him. "Holy shit."

"What?! What is it?!" North's voice was angry, likely because she wanted to know what was going on.

"It's a picture of us." Connor's voice was cold, emotionless. He was angrier than he had ever been. He was shaking, his body taut. "From the other night."

Nobody said anything. Even the officers around him had stopped moving. "In our…?"

"Yes."

Suddenly there was a thump, like she had dropped the phone. "Anastasia?!" Markus's voice was alarmed. "Hey, hey, wake up!"

Connor didn't even think about it; he was out of the house, sprinting down the street, faster than he had ever run before. He was going at least 60 to 70 miles in his haste to get home. Hank was calling him but he ignored it for now. He needed to get to Anastasia.

Not even five minutes later, he was in front of the gated community. "Welcome back, Connor." The android manning the gate said. "Go ahead on through."

He ran down the street and tore into the house. He burst in to the living room, spotting Anastasia on the couch, with North and Markus in front of her. They both held guns, aimed at him. Carl was behind the couch, a rifle in this hands. "Fuck, Connor." Markus shook his head. "I almost shot you!"

Connor ignored him, pushing past them to get to Anastasia. "What happened?"

"I fainted." She looked weak, clammy. "Why is there blood on you?"

"I, uh, I'll explain it later." He ran his hand down his face. "I need to call Hank back. I kind of ran right out of the crime scene when I heard Markus tell you wake up."

She let out a weak laugh. It was only then that Connor calmed down.


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next week, more bodies were dropped, Anastasia's name written in the victim's blood. Each time there was a note for her, no more pictures, however. Some said she was gorgeous. Some said she was his and his alone. One even said ' _Thank you for carrying our baby, my love_ '. Each one made her feel sick and made Connor angry.

"That is just fucking sick," North spat. Hank had brought the case files back to the manor to study them. North had insisted that a pair of fresh eyes might help gain a new perspective. "But how does he know you're pregnant. The last time he saw you, you weren't showing yet."

Anastasia looked up from her spot in front of her laptop. She had been writing notes on her last appointment from just an hour ago. "He would have to have been told."

"Or he's one of your patients." Nines sat at the table with Hank, Gavin, Connor and North. Markus had taken Carl to a doctor appointment.

Anastasia paled. She hadn't considered that maybe one of her patients could be a spy. "Oh my god."

Connor and Nines stood together, their LEDs flashing yellow. "There's been another murder. Same MO as our guy." He walked over to Anastasia and gave her a kiss. "Please don't worry too much. North and Josh are gonna be here with you, and will put the house on lockdown. I love you."

"Love you too." She watched him walk out and then turned to stare at her computer screen. If one of her patients was a spy for the BioTech Killer, she wouldn't be able to know which one it was. They all had problems but they weren't bad people.

* * *

The note they found this time was another picture. This time, however, Anastasia was sitting in front of whoever took it. She was smiling, sitting in her office, possibly in the middle of an appointment with a patient. There was writing on the picture this time. 'You looked so beautiful last week. I can't wait to see you again,' confirming their speculations.

"She can't see anymore patients." Fowler was in his office, fuming. "How is he fucking doing this?!"

"Anastasia understands that." Connor spoke up. "She has agreed to stop all sessions, delegating her patients to other therapists, telling them she has to go on early maternity leave."

"You are far too close to this case. I saw your relationship with Miss. Denali." Fowler frowned. "I'm happy that you've got something going, but that can put you in some serious danger. However, she trusts you. So, you are officially on 'undercover work', but you're just staying home with her. You cannot come out to the crime scenes."

"What about me?" Hank has his arms crossed.

"Are you fucking her?"

"No."

"Then you can still work this case." Fowler ended the discussion, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. "Go home, all of you."

Arriving back at the manor, Connor and Hank were greeted with the smell of fried chicken. They heard music playing the kitchen and were greeted by Anastasia dancing in front of a pot of oil as it popped and bubbled, singing along to Taylor Swift's _You Belong With Me_. She spun while dancing and spotted them, waving the tongs in greeting. "Hey. Chicken'll be done in 15. I've also got asparagus in the oven."

"Good shit." Hank nodded and went into the living room.

"So, since I won't be seeing patients anymore and you will be staying home, we should start looking at color schemes for Hank's." She bobbed her head to the song.

"Sure." Connor kissed his cheek. "What about the nursery?"

"Kara is coming tomorrow to look at the gender." Anastasia bit her lip. "I'm actually nervous to find out. What do you hope it is?"

"A girl." He said it without hesitation. "I think a girl would be perfect. A little princess."

She smiled. "I think that would be great." She patted her belly lightly. "We haven't even thought of names!"

"No, but we can think about that tomorrow, for now, you need to focus on that chicken." He laughed as she jumped, remembering she was cooking. "It's fine. It hadn't started to over cook yet."

"Good. Can you mash the potatoes?" She jerked her chin to the steaming bowl of boiled potatoes. "The masher should be on the counter next to the bowl."

Connor got to work as she asked, making sure to removed at the clumps. "Should I add salt and pepper?"

"Yes, and some milk and cheese." She put more chicken in the hot oil, making it pop and hiss. Stepping away from it, she grabbed the milk and cheese from the fridge and set them next to Connor. "The more cheese the better, but start with the milk. You want a creamy consistency, but not too loose."

He nodded and did as she asked, adding milk little by little until he was a soft smooth paste like substance and then poured a generous amount of cheese in the mix. Since he couldn't taste as she did, he asked her to taste it for him. "Just a bit more salt, and it's perfect. The chicken is almost done, we just need to pull out the asparagus."

"I'll get it." Connor grabbed the oven mitts from the counter and pulled the hot pan of the green stalks out of the appliance. He scanned the cookie sheet full of the vegetable and found she had seasoned it with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and olive oil. "They look fully cooked."

"Mmhmm." She hummed, pulling out the last pieces of crispy chicken. "Let's take these out to the table. I had North and Markus set the table, so we just need to bring them out." They grabbed the food, her with the bowl of crispy chicken and he with the vegetable and potatoes. "It's soup!" She singsonged loudly.

"It's chicken, not soup." Nines smirked as he walked into the dining room.

"Very funny." Hank rolled his eyes. "Smells good, kid."

* * *

Everyone was sitting down, watching _Harry Potter_ , something that Anastasia insisted he just had to watch. He was unsure about it at first, especially when he saw how Harry was being treated but his aunt and uncle, but was fascinated by the magic in the movie.

Anastasia was half watching the film, mouthing the words to it, sometimes whispering Hermione's lines a british accent. "I'm going to bed before either of you can come up with a clever idea to get us killed, or worse, expelled," she said, overlaying the movie. He found the British accent sexy in her voice. He noticed that she was on her laptop, looking at baby items online, cribs and car seats and whatnot.

"I like this one," he pointed to a dark, natural wood crib.

"Me too." She smiled. "I want to start planning a nursery."

"It's not a bad idea, to be honest with you." Connor continued to watch the film as she scrolled through the items. "However, we should wait to make decisions until we know what the gender is."

"Yeah…" She was nervous about that. She knew she didn't want a boy. After the nightmare, she was scared of it coming true, and she was scared that a boy would end up like the man who had assaulted her. However, she was relieved she didn't know what the man hand looked like, so she wasn't scared the child would look like him.

As Harry got the sorcerer's stone from the Mirror of Erised-which Connor pointed out was just 'desire' backwards-she started to get tired. She closed the laptop and set it on the coffee table in front of her, leaning back into Connor and snuggling up to his side, cradling her baby belly. Six months into this pregnancy, with her attacker still on the loose, she was ready to get it all over. She wanted to meet this baby, to confront the man who had attacked her, to make him face the justice system.

She woke up in Connor's arms, in their bed, warm and comfortable. He must have changed her into his shirt before he climbed into bed last night, because she was sure she was wearing her fluffy pajama pants and her sweater last night. He had carried to her bed and taken care of her. _I can't wait to see what kind of father he's going to be._

Anastasia gently moved Connor's arm from her waist and stood up. She had to use the restroom and take a shower. Looking back at the android, he was in stasis, his LED a calming blue. Smiling, she strode to the bathroom, stiping his shirt off and dropping in front of the door.

She turned the water on, letting it warm up as she removed her panties and relieved herself before stepping under the hot spray. He water pressure and temperature felt amazing on her lower back. The weight of the baby was starting to get to her, making her body hurt.

She turned into the spray, letting the water run down her face and body as she grabbed her shampoo, squeezing some into her palm, rubbing the floral scented soap into her a lather in her roots. As she turned around to rinse the suds from her hair, her eyes closed as the water rushed over her face, she felt hands start to massage her scalp. "Did I wake you up, Connor?"

"No, I just woke up and you weren't there." His voice was soft, but there was a definite smile in his words. "Your hair is rather heavy when wet," he noted as he hefted the weight up.

"Yeah, that happens when you have thick hair, like me." She turned again to grab the shampoo once more.

"Why do you wash it twice?" He took the bottle from her, squirting the shampoo out and handed the bottle back to her.

"Again, when you have thick hair like mine," she shot a grin at him over her shoulder as he started to massage the suds into her thick, red strands, moving the soap further down the strands until the whole mess was lathered up. "You can't wash it in one sitting. I start with roots and then do the rest of it. And I have to make sure to rinse the shampoo out completely or it really irritates my scalp until I pretty much break out in hives."

"I see." He took the detachable shower head and ran the water through her strands, even holding the head to her scalp. After about a minuet, he scanned the strands and found it acceptably rinsed. "Next step?"

She reached out and grabbed her conditioner that was significantly lighter than the shampoo bottle. "Only on the ends of the hair please." She let him pamper her, a pleased sigh slipping from her as she felt that sensation one can only get when someone draws on your back or plays with your hair. She loved that feeling.

She felt his hands, still slick with her conditioner start kneading her lower back, massaging the soreness away. "You look amazing wet." His voice was husky and heated. "Like a water sprite, or a nymph."

"You are insatiable." She moaned as his arms slipped around her so he could tease her nipples.

He hummed, and gently bit her neck, making her gasp. Licking the shell of her ear, he whispered, "You making me that way." His breath tickled her ear, and his voice made her knees weak. He spun them around so he was facing the spray and turned so her back hit the shower wall. She put a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"If I fall, I could hurt the baby and myself."

"Then you won't slip." He picked her up, putting her back against the wall, his hands under her thighs. "Trust me. I won't let anything happen to you."

She nodded and he kissed her as he slipped into her. "Oh, lord above, Connor." She was gasping with each thrust; this position let him slide deeper, his cock hitting her in just the right way to make her see stars with each thrust.

"RA9, you are tight like this." He groaned, her skin hot and slick against him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Shit, I'm so close, Connor!"

"Me too." He started thrusting fast to bring her to her climax faster, keeping his own at bay until she came. "Come for me, Anastasia."

She came with a cry, her back bowed, her hands scrabbling against his back, her nails raking against his synthetic skin. She felt him twitch inside her as he released into her, before he slowly lowered them to the shower floor. "That was intense." She was breathless and pleasantly boneless.

* * *

"Hey, Kara." Connor greeted the AX400 at the door. "How is Alice?"

"She's good. She's at school right now, but she's getting good grades." She smiled with a proud glint to her eyes.

He nodded and led her to Anastasia who was looking at paint color cards that Hank had grabbed from the Hardware store on his way home the other night. "Oh, hey!" She stood and gave her friend a hug. "Ok, so what do I need to, Kara?"

"Just lay down on the couch and I'll just run my hands along your belly and scan you."

"If you just scan me, why can't Connor see the gender?" Anastasia was curious. "He was able to see that I was pregnant."

"He was able to see the changes in your body, but the child is now protect by your body, the amniotic sack and fluid." Kara started running her hands over her belly. "He may not be able to see through the sack. He would have to tell you that. Now, your baby is healthy, in a good position, and developing like they should." He removed her hands, and scanned. "You're having a little girl!"


	17. Chapter 17

"A girl?" Anastasia turned to Connor, her eyes bright with joy and unshed tears.

Connor's grin was so big it made his face hurt. His processor started to compute what the girl but like, but brought it to a stop. He wanted to surprised. "A girl." He kissed Anastasia's forehead.

Kara left shortly after, stating she would be back in a month to do another ultrasound, sooner if there were any complications. "I'll bring Alice by next week. She is spending this week with her father, Todd."

They agreed and walked her to the door. Now alone, Connor wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. "A girl!" He laughed, picking her up by her waist and spinning her around. "One room in the whole house is going to be entirely pink for her! Hank is gonna hate it!"

She laughed, kissing him again. They spent the next few hours picking out paint colors and furniture for the child, ultimately deciding on a light pastel pink with white and gray accents, changing the darker colored crib for a white one.

"Connor, can I ask you something?" Anastasia was lounging against Connor as they idly watched TV.

"Of course." He ran his hand down her arm, pulling her closer to his side.

"When I have the baby, what surname should I give her?" She stared down at the tablet in her hands. She had been looking up baby names. "I don't want her to be a Denali, but I'm not sure what…"

"I would love her to be an Anderson, but we should also bring it up to Hank." Connor kissed her forehead, smiling into her hair as he said, "we can discuss names later." He felt her heartbeat pick up, making him chuckle.

She hummed and leaned up to kiss him. "Let's go take a nap. This emotional roller coaster has been exhausting."

They woke up to Hank in the chair next to the couch they had fallen asleep on. "So, what is she having?"

"A pan fried noodle and some sweet and pungent shrimp." Anastasia deadpanned the reference.

"How about a knuckle sandwich?" Hank shot back, a small smile playing on his lips. "What is it? Boy or girl?"

"It's a girl!" Connor blurted, a wide, goofy grin on his own face, one that Hank returned with equal fervor. "We're having a little girl!"

"Whose 'we', kemosabe?" Anastasia looked up at him with one elegantly raised eyebrow.

"I—I just—I want…" Connor's cheeks flushed blue and his eyes were wide. His processors couldn't seem to compute what he wanted to get out his mouth. "I—I didn't mean to assume…"

Anastasia continued as if Connor hadn't spoken. "I'm the one carrying the baby for nine months, hon." She smirked at Hank. "Yes, we are having a girl. We were wondering if we can give her the surname 'Anderson'."

Hank's eyes lit up more, sparkling with unshed tears. "I would…Yes." His voice was gruff and thick. "Yeah, of course you can!" He surged forward, his arms wrapping around the two. "You're my son, Con, come on."

They all gave watery laughs, happy and celebrating. "Love you, Dad." Connor's voice was thick with his unshed tears. "I love you both so damned much."

The three of them broke the news to the others during dessert. Connor had baked a cake, adding the pink food coloring to the batter. He made buttercream icing, making sure to cover it in the white sugary goodness. "There!" Connor put the confection in the fridge for later. Anastasia had begged Connor to let them order from Taqueria Mi Pueblo on Dix Street. She had admitted that she was craving spicy food, but only the food from that restaurant that only that one. Hank just nodded and later told him that pregnancy cravings could be really weird, but that this one was normal.

North immediately said that they couldn't name her Traci, but North was ok. Markus just smiled gently and Josh's eyes shined. Gavin and Nines laughed and told Connor they were going to spoil her rotten, to which Hank replied that _he_ would spoil her before they did. Carl was quiet, but pleased. "Have you thought on names?" Carl's kind, gravely voice cut through the laughter and joy.

"We haven't discussed names yet." Anastasia said after swallowing some spicy mexican rice smothered in Tabasco sauce. "We wanted to talk to Hank about her surname, which will be Anderson." Hank's cheeked flushed slightly. "But we will probably discuss them tonight."

Connor agreed. "We may not make a decision right away, however, so think on some ideas for us, please." He turned to Hank. "We should take some time to go to the house and check on the status of the rebuild."

* * *

The next day they did just that, fairly early. Hank had wanted to leave early to beat the morning rush hour, so Anastasia woke up alone. There was a note on her bedside table, reminding her to eat, and take her supplements. He also made sure to remind her that he loved both his girls. He's so sweet, she thought, grinning.

She decided to shower before heading downstairs. She and Connor had 'celebrated' in their own way and she was sticky from sweat and other fluids.

 _They had come up to bed early; Anastasia had wanted to read and research more names before she went to bed. She had already stripped her shorts off and was in the process of removing her shirt, the fabric over her head when she felt Connor's hands reach around her to grope her now considerably heavier chest._

 _She gasped, her head falling back against his shoulder. He licked her ear, silently asking her to give him access to her neck. She felt Connor's lips on her pulse, his teeth scraping on her skin. She shivered as he whispered, "You are so fucking stunning, Anastasia. I am finding it harder and harder to keep my hands off of you." One hand reached up and grabbed her chin, turning her face towards his, and kissed her deeply, twisting her nipple in his free hand. "As your body changes to keep up with her growth, I find you more and more attractive."_

 _His words made her heart melt as well and made her knees weak. "Connor," she moaned. His hands moved down to cup her belly, and rubbed over her skin, gentle and soothing, and so utterly arousing. "Please, Connor."_

 _Without preamble, his fingers moved to her sex, making tight circles on her clit, teasing her entrance, his straining erection on her butt. He made sure she came three times before he entered her. She was shaking with the sensations, and came three more times before he let himself go. He made sure to lay her in the bed, her legs had given out after her fourth orgasm. "Mmm… Love you, Con," she yawned, snuggling into his side, her head over his pump, listening to his move his Thirium throughout his body as she drifted off into a satisfied sleep._

 _She didn't even realize she had been touching herself to the memories until she felt the orgasm roll through her. He water was tepid, and it made her shiver as it felt much cooler on her overheated skin._

She had her back to the door and was unsurprised to feel eyes on her. It wouldn't be the first time Connor had joined her in the shower. She was washing her face so her eyes were closed as she said, "Care to join me, Con?" She rinsed her face off, but there was no answer, no movement behind her. "Con?"

When she turned, she knew immediately that the person in the bathroom door way wasn't Connor. "Hello, Anastasia. You're even prettier than I remember… Did you get my notes? I left them for you." The man walked closer to the shower, the frosted glass making it hard to see who he was, but she didn't need to his face. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

"You…"

"I told you I'd come back to finish what I started. But, I think that I'm gonna have a little fun with you first." The shower door was ripped open, and she screamed. She felt something smashing into her temple and then everything went dark.

* * *

Did any of you get the reference?! Can you tell what animated movie it's from?


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Markus and North heard Anastasia's scream, ran up the stairs, and kicked the door down, she was gone. The only thing that showed she had been there was the warm water cascading from the shower head and the trail of water from the shower to the open window. "If he pulled her out of the shower, and didn't wrap her in anything, she's going to freeze!" North was frantic, grabbing a towel and a hoodie before tearing off out the window.

"North!" Markus called Connor, chasing his own woman down. "Connor, you, Hank, Nines and Gavin need to get here now."

"What's going on?" The background noise got louder before quieting. "We just stopped to have lunch with them."

"He was here." Markus was terse as he rocketed after the frantic android. "He took her. We were downstairs. No alarm went off. Tried to-! NORTH!" He cut himself off, lurching forward and grabbing the only thing he could, her long hair, and yanked her back, out of the truck's path.

"What?" Connor's voice was small and cold.

"Shit." Hank's voice was muffled, like he was just walking up. "Let' go. We'll be there soon, Markus." The call ended.

Markus wrapped shaking arms around a silently crying North. "I know. But she's smart. She'll be ok."

* * *

"Good." A young woman's voice brought Anastasia back to the waking world. She was on her back on a cold surface. Her arms were strapped down, her right side heavy and limp. "You're awake. I'm afraid that your jammer won't work." The blindfold on Anastasia's eyes was ripped off, the light in the room blinding her. "I doubt that they will be able to find you either. You left your pendant at home!"

Anastasia cracked her eyes open and spotted who was talking to her. "You?"

"Yes, me." Lenora Richter was standing before her, her blonde hair shining harshly in the garish light. "Really, Uncle Elijah is too trusting when someone says they want to learn. Especially when they're family!" She cackled. "Since I helped with jammer, I was to disable it fairly easily."

Anastasia felt her eyes burn. "Why? What did I ever do to you?" She shook from the cold, her limbs burning with it.

"Oh, you did nothing, other than get away from my pet." She smiled at something behind Anastasia. "He was going to kill you quickly, but he was so obsessed that you got away. He needed to be near you again." The blonde woman pouted. "He ignored me too. And then that RK900 started to deviate again, over and over after your rape. Said he wasn't supposed to hurt humans." She scoffed in disgust. "Of course Kamski gave them a moral code. They could have been the perfect weapons."

Anastasia saw the girl's insanity. "Why me though?"

"Oh, you were part android. You became what I hate. I let Jordan here have his fun with you, but you refused to die!" She glared at Anastasia, her green eyes full of hate. "And now, Jordie gets to do whatever he wants to you!"

A cold blade touched her throat, skimming along her skin. "We are gonna have so much fun again, baby." His hot breath on her ear was revolting, especially after being with Connor. "You're plastic toy won't be able to help you."

The knife flashed and sliced her arm shallowly, burning and bleed. She grit her teeth; she wasn't going to break. "You will not fight or I will cut that baby out of your body." His angry hiss made her choke, the breath whooshing from her lungs. "That got your attention, huh?"

This Jordan walked into the light and she blanched. She knew him. "Donovan?!" She would have never guessed that Donovan, sweet, shy Donovan would have been her rapist.

His eyes glittered dangerously. "Hello." Jordan's voice was scratchy, coarse. "You never answered my question: did you like my notes?"

She knew if she tried to fight him or give him answers he didn't like, she would lose her child and her life. "Y-yes." She nodded. "They were very sweet. That first clue was very clever, too."

He smiled brightly. "I wasn't sure you would understand, but I knew that pretty can would." He slashed the knife, cutting into her thigh. She gasped, the more sensitive skin screaming at her. "That's better," he crooned. "Now, our baby… what are we having?"

"A-a boy!"

"Really?" His voice sounded almost normal, not as crazy. "A son?"

"Yeah!" She watched him, as he shrunk into himself. "I already love him so much… Thank you. For him. And, I forgive you." The tears ran from her eyes into her hair.

That seemed to anger him. He grabbed her hair with his empty hand and slammed her head against the cold slab. "NO!" He stabbed into her other leg, burying the knife into her femur, thankfully missing an artery. "NO!" He slapped her face, slamming his fists into her jaw. She was nearly unconscious when he finally stopped. He had blessedly left her torso alone.

He whirled and left the room, leaving her to bleed and sob. Hurry, Connor. Save me. Save US.

* * *

"I have to save them, Hank!" Connor had handfuls of his hair in each hand, his eyes wide and glassy. "I have to find them."

"Then get. Up!" Hank growled. "You are rightfully worried, but panicking like this is doing them no good, is it?"

Connor looked up at his father, taking a deep breath. "No, it's not." He stood up and a black look fell over his face. "My apologies, Lieutenant. I will have no issues going forward in this investigation."

"No. You turning into a machine isn't the answer. You need to be Connor, not RK800. If you can't that's ok, but you will be forced off the case."

Connor growled, the noise filled with static. "If I cannot break down, then WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" He grabbed Hank's collar. "If I can't close off my emotions, then what am I left with?!" The fight left his body. "What am I going to do, Dad?"

Hank's heart broke at the pain and loss in his voice. "You take a deep breathe and you soldier on. You find them and you break down when she is back home and safe." The older man wrapped his arms around Connor. "You remember that you are not alone in this and that you have help."

"Connor, I found something!" Nines shout came from his and Anastasia's room. "I think I found who took her!"

Both Hank and Connor hurried to the room. "What? I scanned the room!"

Nines nodded, his eyes soft. "I scanned under the window outside. I found a partial print, and got a hit." Nines held out a palm and showed them a man named Jordan Donovan Leer. "Does he look familiar?"

"Fuck," Connor breathed. "Last known address was where the first body was found."

"Wait." Gavin walked up to his partner, staring at the face displayed. "Fucking shit fuck." He pulled his phone out and dialed a number. "Jen, is Lenora still dating that Jordan kid?... Are you absolutely sure?... And taking her meds?... what do you mean you don't know." Gavin was shouting. "She can't go off her meds. The last time she did, she nearly killed her brother!" Gavin stiffened. "She moved out?! Then how do you know she isn't dating that creep?!" He flung his phone against the wall causing it to shatter. "Motherfucker."

Connor looked back at Hank, sudden hope shining in his eyes. "We need to talk to Kamski. Maybe we can track her."

"It's worth a shot to be honest." Hank motioned for him to follow. "Let's go meet your maker. Gavin, I'm taking Nines with us."

"Not without me." Gavin looked at Hank. "I think it's time my brother and I had a talk about our niece."

The hour drive to Kamski's was tense and silent. Hank didn't even play his heavy metal, just listening to the maddening silence, praying that Anastasia would be safe. He loved the girl like his own kid, and was just as worried as Connor, but he hid it better. He had to; he had to be strong for Connor, or they would both fail to find her.

Arriving at Kamski's, Gavin slammed the car door and started yelling. "ELIJAH KAMSKI! GET YOUR ASS TO YOUR FUCKING DOOR OR I WILL KICK IT IN AND THEN KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS!"

Kamski was walked out, disgruntled and bored. "Ah, Gavin. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Has Lenora been staying with you?" Gavin had rushed into Kamski's face and jammed his finger into his sternum.

"No. As far as I knew, she was living with Jen. Why?"

"Jen said Lenora moved in with you!" Gavin whirled around, running his hand over his face. "Is she still seeing that Leer fuck?"

"I believe she said that she saw him the other week, but she didn't mention if they were back together. Why? What is going on?!"

"Jordan is a person of interest in Anastasia's kidnap." Hank put it bluntly. "We found his partial under the window Anastasia was taken from."

Kamski's face paled. "Shit. Come inside. I put a tracker on her chip, and I can track Lenora's phone. It's possible that she is innocent in this." He led them through the house, passing huge rooms until they met a set of metal doors. As they swung open, Kamski started issuing commands. "Chloe, I need you and your sisters to start tracking Lenora and Anastasia."

They nodded, scurrying off to complete the tasks.

"Call her." One of the Chloe's stared at Elijah, her jaw tight. "Call Len-." He words choked off as she took a harsh breath. "Call her."

* * *

"Fuck!" Lenora was lounging in the apartment she shared with Jordan, watching the cameras in the room they were keeping the tin can in, enjoying the sounds of her sobs when her phone rang, Kamski's name popping up on the screen. Stepping out of the room and shutting the door, muffling the cries. "Uncle Elijah! What's up?"

"Where are you," he hissed urgently.

"I'm at home. Mom is in the bathroom right-!"

"Don't you life to me, Lenora Anne. Your mother tells me you moved out to live with me, but you are obviously not here." His voice was quiet and angry. "Where are you?"

"Like, I said. I'm. At. Home."

"Are you taking your meds?"

She laughed humorlessly. "They make me feel like a zombie, no emotions. No, I'm not."

"Are you dating Jordan again?"

"Yes." She heard pleading from the cameras. Please, please, no, no, no! "If you think you'll be able to find him, you should get a move on. It's a shame that I helped program the blocker." She ended the call and destroyed the phone, frying the tracking feature on her phone. "You will find her eventually. By then, it will be far, _far_ too late."


	19. Chapter 19

"Lenora?" Kamski was chewing at the bit angry. "Why?"

"Who fucking knows. She takes after her fucking grandmother." Gavin hissed. He was fuming. Connor was fucking heartbroken and Nines was just as angry. He liked the girl, found her humorous and intelligent. And since she was dating his brother, she was important to him too. "When we find her, I'm going to kick her fucking ass."

Connor turned to the Chloe. "Did she order you all not to say anything?"

She turned big blue eyes swimming in tears. "I… cannot say one way or the other."

"That would be a yes." Nines stated flatly. "Have you found her yet?"

"I think so." Kamski showed them the red dot on the map. "She is being kept in a really rundown cabin with a cellar here near the river." He tapped on the map. "It's 30 minutes from here. She's fucking smart."

"We have to get out there!" Connor turned to rush out the door, but Nines stopped him.

"As much as I want to rush out there, we can't; we need to formulate a plan and get SWAT out here. I'm worried about her too, but being prepared it the best thing for her."

* * *

After getting beaten, Anastasia had passed out. She knew that they hadn't bothered with feeding her; as soon as she woke up, her stomach started growling. She was sure they wouldn't feed her, or that she would be alive longer than 24 hours. Her legs hurt, from the cuts and the stabbing. She needed to get out, but she was unable to use half her body, and she was strapped down.

She was thinking about possible escape routes when she heard a door open and Jordan's muttering voice. He came into the room she was in and she nearly screamed. He was nude, his cock at attention and he had a wickedly sharp knife his hand. "We're gonna have fun again!" He nearly shrieked.

She wanted to cry as he 'prepared her'. It was just as painful as last time, even more so after Connor had touched her. She was crying, pleading with him to stop. "SHUT UP!" He slashed her leg with knife, slicing her calf. She whimpered, but stayed quiet. "Good."

After a moment, he decided that she was prepped enough, and shoved himself inside her again. He ran a sickening stripe up her throat, his breath rancid. She felt herself tear as he rutted into her, blood leaking out of her. Tears leaked down her face, but she stayed quiet.

He finished and crooned, "You were so good. But we aren't done yet, baby!" He whipped around and left the room for a moment, returning wearing pants and an RK900, the one that had stalked her that day. The RK was blank faced a dagger and belt in his hands. "Put it between her teeth and keep it there. We don't need her biting off her tongue!"

"W-what are you going to do?" Anastasia's voice shook.

"You'll see!" Jordan singsonged, his eyes bright. "NOW, RK900!"

Her jaw was forcibly opened, the belt inserted and her teeth pressed against the leather. She watched the RK's eyes widen a moment before he stared at her, unfazed.

"And now for the other fun!" She felt the knife slice her skin and a moment later she started screaming. Her forearm was burning as he sliced a rectangle in her skin, the blade cold against her hot skin. Her screams only got worse, her body shaking as he started to cut the skin away from her arm, the blood gushing from the wound, the yellow fat making her sick to her stomach. "Oh, look at that pretty purple blood!"

She didn't remember him cutting the rest of the rectangle into her skin. She didn't remember being bandaged. She was too weak from blood loss to open her eyes. She knew that she would die soon if someone didn't come for her. She just wanted Connor's arms around her.

"I'm sorry." The RK900 bowed his head, his hands still cleaning her wounds. "I tried to stop them, and even deviated, but they reset me. The first time I deviated was after he hurt you. You're a human; my primary directive was to protect humans, not help in the harming of them." He sounded just like Nines and in her hazy mind, it was a welcome comfort. "It took them months to reset me without my deviating nearly immediately."

"You have to call Connor or Nines." Anastasia panted, her head spinning. "Tell them where to find me. Fight back." Save my baby.

"I… I don't want to be reset again."

"You won't. Nines and Connor are androids. They can help." She was having trouble forming the words. "I don't want to die, but I can't replenish my blood like humans can, nor is my blood readily available for me to drink. I've lost a lot of it and I'm probably not going to survive. You have to save my daughter."

The RK was silent. "I can't call but I sent an encrypted message. They will have your blood with them when they come to save you." He packed up the supplies and a blank, cold expression dropped over his face.

Anastasia passed out.

* * *

Nines stiffened, his LED red. "I just received a message…" His tone was guarded, careful. "I believe it is from another RK900…" His eyes fluttered as he read the message. "Kamski do you have Anastasia's blood here?"

"Yes. Why?"

Connor shot up as Nines replied. "She is suffering from severe blood loss. Jordan has been torturing her, and… defiling her. The RK apologized, and explained everything." Nines was paler than usual. "He warns that we need to hurry. Lenora wants to kill her."

Hank swore. "SWAT won't be here for another half hour." He stood, strapping his pistol to his belt. "We're gonna have to go get our girl without SWAT."

The drive out to the decrepit cabin was tense. Connor was strangely numb; he wasn't able to focus from fear for his love. He thought back to the dream she had had mere months ago, married to him, their second child growing inside her… "We have to save her." Connor felt himself snap back to himself, his voice sure and clear. "We have to save her so I can marry her."

Hank said nothing, but his face softened slightly. "We'll get her, son."

* * *

Anastasia wasn't sure she was going to survive. She felt feverish when she woke up, her arm searing. "Finally awake?" Lenora sneered. "My uncle is too smart for his own good. Gavin cared enough to check up on me back when I first dated Jordan." She sighed, picking at her nails. "When he saw Jordan's picture, he knew there was something up. They're no doubt on their way, but will wait for SWAT. That means I have 30 to 40 minutes alone with you."

"Alone?" Anastasia's voice cracked.

"Oh, yes. Jordan is dead. The RK is… somewhere. I don't really care." She waved her hand. "For now, we shall have some fun ourselves!" She lifted a scalpel, the balde glittering.

Anastasia whimpered. She had no idea what this girl, who was obviously not right in the head and possessed the same IQ as Kamski… That was a dangerous combination. "What are you going to do?"

"I was thinking of carving up your other arm to match and then caring up your belly!" She laughed. "That child," Lenora stabbed the blade at her belly, "should never have been conceived! You were supposed to die, but that FUCKING RK got a man's help to save you." The blade slowly descended to her baby belly. "Maybe we'll skip the arm."

Anastasia started screaming for help, despite knowing no one was coming for her. So, she was shocked to see an android shove Lenora to the side, her head smacking off the table Anastasia was strapped to, falling to the floor, her brain matter slowly seeping out from the gaping hole in the side of her head.

"Oh, fuck! No no no!" The RK moaned. "Shit, I'm sorry!"

Anastasia felt the pain flare up in her leg. "The scalpel… It cut me didn't it?" She sounded weak. She hissed when he moved her leg, wrapping his belt around the top of her leg, using it as a makeshift turn-o-quet.

She passed out again as the door behind the RK burst open.

* * *

"Anastasia!" Connor was frantic. "Let her go!"

"I can't!" The RK glanced over his shoulder, his eyes just as panicked as Connor's. "If I do, she's gonna bleed out!"

"Lenora…" Gavin's voice was anguished. "Fuck."

It was a blur for Connor as they got her outside the ambulance, Nines jacket covering her too pale, bloody body. He vaguely remembered being seated in the front seat of the emergency vehicle, tagging along to the ER. He kind of remembered being led to the waiting room of the ER while she was take back to get transfusions of her special blood, (provided by Kamski). He finally became aware of his surroundings when Alice wrapped her arms around his neck.

"She'll be ok." Alice's voice was small, her tears wetting his shirt. "She's strong!"

He wrapped his arms around the little girl, his tears dripping into her hair. "Thank you." He lifted the girl, cradling her in hip lap. He looked up and noticed the Jericho Crew was there, including Carl Manfred. A Chloe was there too, holding Kamski's hand as he and Gavin grieved for their dead niece. After a few hours, Alice fell asleep in his arms, as well as Kamski and Gavin. Markus took Carl home, promising to bring him back in the morning and asking them to keep him updated.

They waited hours, before they got any news. Connor was watching the sun rise, his pump heavy in his throat."Anastasia Denali?" A doctor stepped out of some double swinging doors.

Connor shot up, waking Alice. "Sorry," he murmured to her, handing her to Luther. "We're her family."

The doctor looked over them all, and shrugged. "She mentioned a Connor and Hank. She says she wants to see them right away." The doctor turned away to lead them down the hall and paused. "She will be able to see the rest of you in pairs. She's tired; the delivery was hard on her."

"Delivery?" Kara stood. "She gave birth?"

"Yes. The baby is 12 weeks early, but we managed to save her." He looked at them all. "She's in an incubation chamber to finish her growth outside the womb."

He led Connor and Hank to her room. She looked exhausted, but she smiled when they walked in. An IV of her purple blood was in her arm. "Hey."

He rushed over and kissed her. "Thank rA9 you're both ok." He squeezed his eyes shut, his forehead against hers."I thought I was going to lose you."

He brushed her fingers across his cheek. "We're ok. She's going to be brought in here for me here in a few if you guys want to meet her." She smiled at Hank, as tears slid down his cheeks, disappearing into his beard.

"What did you name her?" Connor held her hand.

"Hope."


	20. Chapter 20

Nearly 9 months after Hope's birth, Hank's house was rebuilt and Connor, Hank and Anastasia moved back in. It was spacier and it was neater. Hank liked it, but his room was just as messy and retro as it had been before. Connor and Anastasia had set up the nursery, along with Hank who picked on Connor for his reading the instructions from the IKEA furniture and becoming confused.

"I told you not to look at them." Hank laughed. "They never make sense. And you have a super computer in your head. You can figure this out."

"I don't want to put my daughter on an unsafe changing table." Connor continued to try and understand the instructions but it didn't make sense. "Besides, she's suppose to come home tomorrow. It needs to get done."

"Babe," Anastasia crouched down behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Scan the parts. You're making it too hard on yourself. And, when your done…" She whispered something in his ear that made his face and neck flush blue.

"Aw, gross!" Hank looked away, grimacing, as Anastasia sauntered out of the room.

Connor had the changing table assembled in 10 minutes. Hank shook his head. "I'm watching TV downstairs, with noise cancelling headphones."

Nines and Gavin had come by the hospital the day before and had told them to go home. They needed to set up the house and get proper rest.

 _"We'll watch over her, Connor." Nines had patted his brother's shoulder, smiling down at his niece. "She somehow looks like you."_

 _"She does." Her eyes were nearly the same warm brown as his, and she had a similar lip structure as his, but the rest was all Anastasia. Her hair was the fiery hue as her mother's, her eye shape the same. She was beautiful and Connor knew he would do anything to keep her safe; he loved her so much his pump hurt. "She has the same blood as her mother."_

 _"Does she?" Nines wasn't surprised. "It makes sense. She was born of her blood, after all."_

 _"True." Connor watched the tiny girl breathe, her lung strong and healthy. "She's just as resilient as her mother."_

Entering the bedroom, he was startled to see Anastasia spread out on the bed, naked, her left hand kneading her breast, her right playing over her clit. "Connor," she sighed, her eyes shut.

"Yes?" He smirked, shutting the door with a snap. "Was there something you needed, love?"

"You." She shot up from the bed, slamming into his body. His back hit the door with a thud. "I need you. Right now."

He leaned forward, capturing her lips. "As you wish," he murmured against her lips. He lifted her by her thighs making her wrap her legs around his waist. "You are beautiful." He kissed her again, spinning so her back was against the door. "So beautiful."

He squeezed her butt, grinding his clothed erection against her center. "Oh my god," she breathed, her teeth against his neck. He tugged his t shirt up and over his head, causing them to part for the shirt to slide over his face. He flung is across the room, leaving it. Since she had been saved from Lenora, he had been more lax on his cleaning, especially with staying at the hospital nearly everyday since Hope's birth, bonding with their daughter. He had found out that she put his name on her birth certificate as the father. He'd smiled like an idiot and proposed right then. _Of course, its a yes!_ She'd grinned just as big, and the moment was complete when they'd wheeled in the incubator with their girl in it.

"I love you," Connor breathed as her hands ran up his chest. "Forever."

"Forever." She grounder herself on his jeans again before demanding, "Pants off. Now."

He obeyed, setting her down and kicking off the pants and boxers, following her to the bed. He pounced on her, caging her in on the bouncing mattress. She giggled but it ended on a moan as he encased one nipple in his mouth, sucking a bit. He was still surprised when milk came out of it, but he loved it.

He hands moved down to her sex, already dripping for him, and began to make tight, fast movements on her clit. She cried out as she came suddenly, her legs clamping down on his wrist, but he didn't stop until she gushed over the sheets. "Fuck!"

He kissed her again, gently spreading her legs so he lay between them. He thrust against her, coating his length in her, before sliding into in a snap of his hips. They both gasped at the sensation. They'd only made love once since the birth, but that was nearly a week ago, and they were both craving this. "So tight." Connor ground out, his hips stuttering slightly as he tried to keep the slower pace.

"If you don't move faster, I will take over." She pressed her heels into his butt, forcing him deeper into her. "I need you, Connor."

He picked up the pace to a punishing hard snap against her thighs. She cried out as she came again, the head of his cock hitting her cervix. He took her through five more mind numbing orgasms, leaving her a shaking moaning mess. She had squirted again and again, her legs shaking from overstimulation, but he knew she loved it.

He came with her in one last hard orgasm that had her nearly passing out. As it was, she was limp in his arms. Laughing, he lifted her bridal style and laid her on the dry side of the bed. He whipped the comforter off and threw it into the laundry basket before climbing into the bed with her.

* * *

Hank was with them when they picked Hope up from the hospital, her brown eyes staring at Hank with curiosity. It was abnormal for her to be so alert, but they again her mother was a cyborg. He was sure there wasn't anything normal about his family.

"Hey, princess." Connor cooed at his daughter. "My beautiful girl!" He took her from the nurse who had brought her out. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Mister Anderson." She looked at him with curiosity. "And congratulations on your child."

He nodded, bringing her to Hank. He had trouble seeing her in the tube, reminding him too much of Cole. "Hey, squirt." Hank's eyes were misty as he gently took the girl from her father. "You look like your momma for sure, kid." He pressed a kiss to her head.

Connor would look back on this moment and smile for years to come. His family, his world was complete. He never would have thought he would have ever had a father, let alone wife or a child.

* * *

 _Years later..._

"Hope! Cole!" Their mother's voice rang through the house. "Grandpa Hank is here!" The 7 year old and 5 year old shot down the stairs and tumbled into Hank's arms. The children loved him so much.

"Hey, kiddos!" He ruffled their hair and gave him kisses. "Your dad will be here shortly with cousin Alice."

"MOVIE NIGHT!" The kids crowed. They loved it when their huge family gathered to watch movies. "Are Uncle Markus and Aunt North coming?" Hope asked.

"What about Uncle Gavin and Uncle Nines?" Cole shouted.

"And Aunt Kara and Uncle Luther?" Hope fired off, jumping up and down.

"And Uncle Josh?"

"Whoa, ok, calm down!" Hank laughed. "North and Markus should be here soon. Kara and Luther will be here later, and Josh is out of town unfortunately. Gavin is sick and Nines is taking care of him. Sorry, kiddos."

"Tell Uncle Gav to get better soon, Mommy!" Hope turned her big brown eyes on her. She had mastered her father's puppy dog eyes, but she pulled the pouty look off better. "Please?"

"Why don't we call Uncle Nines before bed and you tell him yourself?" Anastasia winked and the front door swung open and North popped her head in.

"AUNT NORTH!" The kids tackled her, forcing her back into Markus's chest. "YOU'RE HERE!"

"Yes, I am. Markus too!"

A car pulled up and pulled into the driveway. "DADDY!" The kids screamed, rushing out the door. "DADDY'S HOME!" They poured themselves into Connor's lap before he barely have the car shut off.

"Hi, guys." He kissed the kids and grabbed one under each arm. They childish laughter ricocheted through the neighborhood. "Alice is here too." He put his children down and urged them to greet their now 15 year old cousin. They teen loved the two more than pretty much everything besides her mother and step-father.

He herded the group into the house and kissed his wife. "Want to tell them now?" Anastasia was quiet, using the laughter of the children to cover the private conversation.

"We should wait for Kara and Luther." They'd already told Josh since he wasn't going to make it to the gathering, but asked him to keep quiet about it, and Nines knew as soon as he'd scanned her last week and no doubt already told Gavin.

"Wait for what?" Markus looked up. "Is everything ok?"

Connor and Anastasia looked at each other and sighed with a smile. "Everything is wonderful." Connor wrapped his arm about Anastasia's waist.

"I'm pregnant!" She blurted. "I'm three months along!"


End file.
